Naruto's New Mother (Reboot)
by Dragon1990
Summary: For reasons that she can neither understand or explain, Tsunade feels it's time to return to Konoha. Upon her arrival, she meets a young orphan boy named Naruto Uzumaki. The decision she makes next will change their lives forever. Rated M for violence and language. Contains Family/Hurt/Comfort.
1. A Fateful Encounter

[Konoka]

Hidden somewhere in the center of a massive forest in the heart of the Land of Fire was one of the five great villages known as Konohagakure No Sato. The village has stood for nearly a hundred years after Hashirama Senju founded it and was named it's First Hokage. And even after his passing, his image is still immortalized on the great mountain behind the Hokage tower. His face, side by side with his brother Tobirama Senju, the Second Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage who was currently the reigning Hokage now and Minato Namikaze, the Fourth Hokage who was one of Konoha's most beloved heroes, laying down his own life in defense for the village and saving everyone from the wrath of the feared Kyuubi No Kitsune or Nine Tailed Fox.

In a park near the market district of the village, was a playground where many children were playing. Many were on the monkey bars or in line for the slides while others were on the jungle gyms. Many others were out in the grass and playing games like tag or ball games. Near the park benches were the children's parents who kept a close eye on them while they played and smiled as they watched them laugh and interact. But one child wasn't playing with any of the other children. He sat off to the side on his own at the swings all by himself while he watched the other kids play and have fun. Instead, he sat and gently swayed back and forth on the swing under the shade of the trees behind him while watching them with a sad and lonely look on his face.

This boy had spiky blonde hair, sky blue eyes and whisker markings on his cheeks which gave him a real feral look. He was wearing a white tee shirt with a red swirly design on the front and back, green shorts and blue sandals on his feet. His name is Naruto Uzumaki. He's five years old and an orphan who lives all by himself in the village. About six months ago, he ran away from the local orphanage because he couldn't take the abuse from the adults that worked there anymore. He was probably living on the streets for about a week before the Hokage found him and had him moved into his own apartment in the more rural district of the village. Every other day, Naruto would come to the park and watch the other children play, wishing he could too.

But he never could. Every time he tried working up the courage and ask other kids if he could play a game with them, some parent who was close by would see him and immediately intervene. They'd make sure to put some distance between him and their children and try and make him leave. Sometimes they'd try and be real calm and insistent by simply telling him to go away while other times, they'd be as cold and cruel as can be as they'd curse him and yell until he'd simply turn around and go. So most days, Naruto would just watch other children on the playgrounds play and have a good time, wishing he could play too but knowing their parents would simply force him to leave. One by one, boys and girls would leave with their loving parents until it was just him.

As the sun began to set in the distance, Naruto got up off of the swing he was on and walked down the concrete stairway then get back on the road to head home. While he walked, Naruto noticed eyes on him while others would whisper to each other as they watched him pass by. By now, he was well aware that they were talking about him. They always looked at him with such hatred and disgust whenever and wherever he walked in the village. Each and every day, he asked himself why? What did he do wrong? Why was everyone so mean to him? And why was he the only one who wasn't allowed to have a mom or dad? For so long, he envied what the other children had. Seeing the love and warmth other kids got from their parents made his heart ache.

Not long after he left the park, he'd make it to his dirty and isolated apartment in the run down district of the village. He opened the door and let himself in, closing the door behind him. The little boy sighed and then walked over to the pantry where he kept his ramen. Usually, a bowl of instant ramen when he came home would make him feel a whole lot better, at least for the rest of the day anyway. Given that he was still pretty small, he would have to push one of the chairs around to stand on so he could reach certain places in his kitchen. Naruto would first bring out the packet of pork miso instant ramen and place the foam cup on his table. Then he'd push the chair over to the sink and fill up a kettle with water before pushing the chair over to the stove.

Once the water was nice and hot, he carefully poured it into the cup of instant ramen and waited for it to cook the noodles. That was when he heard a knock at the door. Naruto walked over and opened it up before smiling when he saw who his guest was.

"Old Man!" he greeted happily, seeing the Hokage smiling back down as him.

The man in question was none other then Konoha's own Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi. While quite old by now, Sarutobi was still quite a powerful Shinobi in his own right. He was trained from a young age by both the First and Second Hokage before him and has reigned over and protected his village for many years. All the while, he'd seen many young ninja graduate the academy and become very capable shinobi in their own right. Over the last few years, he's developed a good relationship with Naruto, visiting him often and finding within him a surrogate grandson. Today, he decided to leave his desk and the mountain of paperwork that comes with it and see how Naruto was doing. It always brightened his day to be so warmly greeted by him.

"Hello Naruto." he replied happily. "I was hoping to see how you were doing. May I come in?" he asked him.

Naruto nodded and walked back inside with the elderly man following right behind him. The Hokage sat down on the chair at Naruto's dining room table while he watched the young boy take his cup of ramen over to his own seat. Naruto got up on the chair and sat down to talk with his guest.

"So Naruto, how have you been?" asked Hiruzen.

"Oh, y'know...I went to the park today." he replied, trying to remain upbeat. "I played on the swings too." he added.

The old man knew Naruto was just trying to hide his loneliness like he always did. He was a young boy who wore a mask with a smile painted on to hide the pain and loneliness he felt all the time.

"What about the other children Naruto?" he asked him. "Did you get a chance to play with any of them? Maybe make a few friends?" he asked as well.

Naruto's smile dropped and he looked back down at the table. "Well, there were grownups there so..." he began.

"And you were afraid they'd yell again if you tried talking with their children, were you?" he asked with a saddened look as well. Hiruzen had been hoping that the villagers would finally try opening up to him, but clearly they still showed fear or even open hatred towards him, as well as try and keep him from coming anywhere near their own children.

"Old Man, why don't any of them like me?" he asked him. "Did I do something wrong?" he asked.

"No Naruto, none of it is your fault in any way." Hiruzen replied, trying to make him feel at least a little better. "It's just, they don't know you yet. But I'm sure that one day, they will and they'll see how important you are. Not only to me, but to the whole village." he told him. He then smiled before continuing. "What was it I've told you about the bad days?" he asked him.

"Bad days don't last forever." Naruto replied. "They do come to an end. We don't know when they do, it could come tomorrow or even the day after, but even if it doesn't, there's always the next." he explained with a small grin.

"I know things are gonna get better for you Naruto. I'm sure of it in fact." he told him.

Naruto smiled again and by now, his noodles were cooked so he took the top off the cup, grabbed his chopsticks and started chowing down. Hiruzen got back up and walked over to the window near Naruto's sink. That was when he noticed the potted plant he gave him and smiled, seeing how the leaves were nice and a healthy shade of green which meant that they've gotten plenty of water and sunshine.

"I see you've been taking very good care of Ukki-San." he remarked.

Naruto smiled again and nodded after swallowing another mouthful of noodles. "Yup. I've watered him just like you've shown me every day." Naruto replied.

"Very good Naruto, very good." the Hokage said before turning. "I'm afraid that I need to go now Naruto but before I do, I have something for you." he said, reaching into his robes and pulling out a small purse.

Naruto got up and walked over to the old man who handed him some money. "Wow, thanks Old Man." Naruto said graciously.

"Please spend it wisely and not just on ramen." he asked him. "You should try to buy some new cloths and some other foods as well." he told him.

"I will, thanks Old Man." Naruto replied as he watched the Hokage leave through the front door.

One of the things that made life in Konoha a little easier was having the Hokage. He always visited when he had the time and was always very kind and caring to him as well. While he wasn't his father, Naruto felt that he at least had someone there for him, even if it was just to a certain level. Naruto took the cash he had, about three hundred Ryo back to his room before resuming his dinner. Naruto would then get a bath and head straight to bed afterwords. He would lay awake for a bit, hoping that things really would get better like the old man told him they would. What he wanted more than ever were parents, or even just a mother. Someone to talk with him, listen to him, help him when he really needed it. Someone to make him feel loved and wanted.

[Another Village]

In another land far to the north of the Land of Fire, there's a gaming village where travelers can come and go after a heavy night of gambling, drinking and partying. This place made all it's money from all it's casinos, hotels and booze that all it's visitors would buy, pissing away all their cash. At one of these very inns, a young woman with black hair and onyx colored eyes made her way up the stairs to one of the bedrooms she was sharing with her Sensei. She gently opens the door and clicks on the lights, only for her roommate to yell back at her.

"Shizune! Please turn those lights back off!" shouted the blonde woman under the sheets of her bed.

"I'm sorry Tsunade-Sama, but it's almost noon and it's time to wake up." she replied before walking over to the side of the bed. She placed some meds and a glass of water down on the end table. "This will help you with the headache and a nice hot shower should help too." she told her.

Tsunade sat back up, holding her head in her hands before grabbing the pills and then washing them down with the glass. "Ugh." she groaned. "How hard did I party last night?" she asked.

"I think the three empty bottles of Sake should answer that." she replied, looking over at the empty rice wine bottles on another table.

"Wait, they're empty? Shit." she complained, thinking now that she really did go a little overboard now.

"I'm gonna get breakfast Tsunade-Sama." said Shizune who made her way over to the door. "Take some time to sober up and we can have it together, okay?" she asked.

Tsunade nodded and allowed her student to leave before getting up and heading over to the bathroom for her shower. Lady Tsunade was one of the legendary three Sannin and the last living descendant of the Senju Clan. She was a student of the Third Hokage and the Granddaughter of the First Hokage as well as the Great Grandniece of the Second. She was also a medical genius and one of the strongest woman on earth. However, these days don't really reflect the glory days. Out of grief for the loss of her younger brother Nawaki and her fiancee Dan, she left Konoha behind and for well over a decade now, has just been going to one village like this after another drinking and berrying herself deeper and deeper in debt because of her gambling addiction.

Her apprentice Shizune, who was also Dan's niece, decided to follow her and since then, has done her best to try and take care of her. Certainly hasn't been easy for her, given that Tsunade has done nothing but rack up higher and higher debts only to skip town and leave before paying any of them back. Still, she's always held out hope that one day, she'll turn things around and start making better decisions with her life then this reckless one that she's living now. Tsunade's biggest problem however was that she just can't seem to let what happened to Nawaki and Dan go. Nawaki was killed in cold blood by Iwa ninja on his very first mission after graduating the academy while Dan died during the Third Shinobi World War. She partially blames herself.

Tsunade would exit the bathroom fully dressed and feeling much better, what with the meds finally kicking in. She'd see Shizune setting a table for them and thanked her before taking her seat and digging into her morning meal. Both ladies would eat silently for a while, but Shizune would notice something off about her Sensei.

"Tsunade-Sama, are you okay?" she asked her.

"Hmm?" replied Tsunade before swallowing. "The meds have kicked in, so I feel fine." she told her.

"That's not what I meant." said the younger woman. "You seem very distracted." she told her.

"Distracted? How so?" Tsunade asked her.

"While you've never been the sort of person who'd shy away from a game, a hard drink or just dance to some pulse music for parties, last night was way crazier than usual." replied Shizune. "I've been around long enough to tell when you're thinking hard about something. Do you wanna talk about it?" she asked her.

Tsunade smiled and sat back in her chair while crossing her arms. "I guess there's no way I could have hidden it from you, could I Shizune?"she asked her. She then sighed before continuing. "You're right. I have been thinking a lot lately and it's not been going on since yesterday, I've been thinking about this for a little over a week. And I can't stop thinking about it. No matter how much booze I drink, how many parties I go to are how high the stakes are in a game I'm playing, the thoughts just keep on coming back." she told her.

"Tsunade-Sama, I had no idea. What have you been thinking about?" she asked her.

Tsunade smiled and even laughed just a little bit. "Konoha." she answered. "In fact, I've seriously thought about going back." she told her.

Now that was something she really wasn't expecting to hear. "Konoha?!" she asked back with a shocked expression. "Tsunade-Sama, I thought that you said that once you left, you'd never go back or even think about it. You said that it caused you too much pain to even consider it. Why the change of heart?" she asked her.

"I know what it is I said Shizune." she replied. "And truth be told, I don't really know. I don't know at all why it is I wanna go back to the village, but I feel that I wanna go back, even if it is just for a time. Part of me wants to say I'm feeling a little homesick, but I honestly don't know why it is I want to go back and I feel like I won't know what it is until I get there." she explained. She smirked again, seeing the younger woman smile before her. "That must sound really stupid to you, huh?" she asked.

"Not at all." she replied. "In fact, I miss Konoha too and I'm really happy to hear that you actually wanna go back." she told her.

Tsunade stood back up and walked over to the dresser to get packing. "Than I guess we should both get packing and get ready to go. Konoha is several days away and if we wanna get there before I change my mind, we'll have to move quickly." she told her.

"Yes Ma'am." replied Shizune. "Come here Tonton." she called out.

Over in the corner in her little basket, Shizune's little piglet Tonton woke up and trotted over to the young brunette who picked her up. The three of them would be packed up and ready to go in only a matter of minutes before they were out the door, on the road and on their way to Konoha.

[Three Days Later]

In the Hidden Leaf Village market district, young Naruto was making his way over to the stands where all the food was. All the while he walked, there were people who were staring at him with pretty cold glares, all thinking something along the lines of "What is THAT doing here?" Naruto simply ignored it and kept walking on to his destination. Soon, he found the stand he was looking for. He thought he'd take the Hokage's advice and try eating more than just ramen. He thought that oranges tasted really good and they were his favorite color. He walked up to the stand where he saw the oranges on display and called up to the lady who worked. She smiled at first and looked to who was calling her, but her smile vanished when she saw who it was.

"Can I have some Oranges please?" Naruto asked her.

She didn't know how to answer, not knowing what to do about the boy who stood before her stand. She knew who he was and just wanted him to leave.

"Is everything alright Hon?" asked a man who was likely her husband. She looked over to the boy, turning his attention to him as well. He scowled when he looked at him and then back to his wife. "I got this, you can have a break now." he told her. She smiled and left, leaving her husband to deal with Naruto. "What do you want?" he almost growled.

"I wanted to buy some oranges." Naruto replied.

"I've got nothing to sell to the likes of you and as long as you're here, nobody else will come. Now beat it." he told him.

Naruto reached into his pocket and pulled out some Ryo before holding it up. "I've got some money." he told him.

The guys huffed in annoyance before putting some oranges into a brown paper bag and walking around to take the money and drop the bag in his hands. "Now get lost." he grumbled.

Naruto readjusted his grip on the bag and turned to head back home with his fruit. That was when he noticed the crowd gathered who've been watching the whole time. Naruto kept his eyes down and walked around, seeing some move to get out of his way as well.

"Daddy? Who's that?" asked a little girl to her father.

"He's nobody." he answered, urging her to walk away. "He's a worthless nobody." he told her.

Naruto paused when he heard that for only a moment before he'd began walking again. While he walked, he kept on noticing people staring at him like they always did. He tried to ignore it as best as he could, but it got harder and harder as it went on. Why? Why were people like this with him? They didn't act this way to other children, so why him? These things he wondered while he walked past another group of teenagers. They were just chatting and joking around until one of them saw him walking by with the bag of fruit. He gently nudged his friend to his left who was the leader of their gang and pointed to Naruto once he got his attention. He sneered and told his buddies to follow him when he started walking towards the little boy with the paper bag.

Naruto wasn't too far from where he lived when he heard someone behind him.

"What do we have here?" asked an older boy. He'd turn to see about seven of them sneering down at him. "And what have to got there freak?" he also asked.

Naruto was a little intimidated but managed to answer. "Just some oranges." he replied.

That was when he snatched them out of his grip and held them up high where Naruto couldn't reach them. He also took one out and looked at the sticker on it. "These are the same kind that are sold at one of my Father's stalls. You've been stealing from us you little Rat?" he asked while Naruto tried jumping up to get them, making the other guys snicker at the scene.

"I didn't steal them!" Naruto protested. "I paid for them with money given to me by the Hokage, now give them back!" he shouted, still trying to recover his fruit.

"And now you insult me by lying." he replied before tossing the bag behind him and letting on of his guys hold onto it for him.

"I'm not lying, they're mine!" he shouted again. He was then surprised when the guy grabbed him by his shirt and started dragging him off to the side of the building off the road. "Hey! Let me go! Let me go!" Naruto cried.

Overhead, a single Anbu Black Ops watched on as the group of teenagers continued abusing the five year old. But rather than intervene, she turned and disappeared, leaving him to his fate. The leader of the band then hoisted Naruto up off his feet and held him against the side of the building with his hands around his throat. Naruto started gasping and gagging for air as the guy's grip became tighter.

"You've got a lot of nerve showing your face around here Freak." he sneered. "Coming to my Father's Market District and stealing from one of our Stalls." he added. Naruto only continued to struggle against the guy's grip, desperate for air. "You are nothing." he told him. "You've always been worth nothing and you'll always be just a cur that everyone wants dead. You are garbage! You are filth! You are the lowest form of life on Earth! Lower than dirt!" he shouted into Naruto face.

That was when Naruto managed to loosen the guy's grip just enough for him to take a breath and then spit back in his face in defiance. "I'm not nothing!" he protested. "I'm somebody and one day, I'll be somebody important!" he shouted.

The guy wasn't happy about having some kid spit in his face. He immediately got very angry before bringing his knee up full force into Naruto's chest, knocking the wind out of him and even causing him to spit up some blood. "You little Bastard!" he shouted before throwing him to the ground face first. Naruto struggled to get back up but couldn't catch his breath. That was when the same guy kicked him in the face, knocking him onto his back. "KILL IT!" he shouted to his gang and they'd all jump into the boot party, ruthlessly kicking and stomping the poor child without mercy. People who actually saw what was going on just left as quickly as possible so as not to get involved. Naruto tried to call out for help, but he still couldn't breath from the first assault.

Besides, he didn't know who else to call out to. The Hokage wasn't there and he was the only person other then the Ichirakus at his favorite ramen stand. Besides, they would be on the other end of the district and they wouldn't be able to hear him, even if he could call out to them. Naruto laid there, taking the beating of the lifetime as the seven older boys kicked and stomped down with hatred and full force, breaking bones under their weight. Naruto's vision began to dim as the assault continued. He was scared and truly alone as he was at the mercy of the teens and they were showing him none at all. Before he'd pass out, he came to accept that this was to be his fate now. All alone with nobody to save or help him as he'd die in the streets of Konoha.

[Konoha's Gates]

Tsunade and Shizune would arrive and enter the gates of their old village for the first time in over a decade. Tsunade looked up to see the faces of the Hokage Stone Monuments which overlooked the whole village. She couldn't believe it at all really, but she was happy to be back in her home village. The place had hardly changed at all since she was last there and it filled her with a warm sense. She walked on through the streets with her apprentice by her side. Both ladies would see people smiling at them, probably not really knowing who she was though. This was fine with her actually. She didn't want to draw a whole lot of attention to herself anyway. She simply wanted to pay a visit to some familiar faces and then move on.

Besides, many people would have been too young to know her at a first glance anyway.

"So what do you think we should do first Tsunade-Sama?" Shizune asked her.

"First, I'd like to get some rest and maybe even something to eat." she replied. "We'll probably stay here for about a day, maybe two. I just wanna see how Sensei is doing, say hello to a few more people and pay my respects to Nawaki and Dan. Then we'll leave again, understood?" she asked.

"Alright, I'll find a nice Hotel for us to stay and reserve us a room." said Shizune. "Come on Tonton." she called down to the little piglet.

Tsunade would walk by herself for a little bit shortly after Shizune left to find the hotel for them to stay at. She'd make her way through the market district, seeing various stores, shops and eateries. While she walked, she couldn't get over how little of it changed. She would also see children playing games in the streets with shop owners and stall vendors trying to sell their wares to whoever is willing to shop. She picked up a few things she needed such as shampoo and conditioner as well as other feminine products she was in need of. Once she got everything she was looking for, she decided to meet back up with Shizune and Tonton. Tomorrow, she'd drop on by the Hokage's Office to see how he was doing. He'd probably learn of her arrival soon enough.

While she made her way down the road, she noticed something out of the corner of her eye. She looked to see laying out in the middle of the street a humanoid shape. As she got closer, she saw that it was a small child. To her horror, he was covered in cuts and bruises all over and his cloths were covered in blood and dirt. She also saw evidence of broken bones.

"Kami." she gasped as she dropped down to her knees to get a closer look. "You poor little thing. Who would do something like this to a child?" she asked, bringing a hand up to check him, hoping to see if he was still alive. He looked to be no older then four or five. That was when one of his hands reached up to grab hold of her finger, surprising her a bit. She watched as his eyes opened up halfway to meet her own. Tears formed up and started rolling down his whiskered cheeks as he looked into her brown eyes with his sky blue ones. He opened his mouth as if to try and beg for help, but no words came out. His eyes then shut and he let go of her hand, loosing all strength he had left. His little hand dropped to the ground and didn't move afterwords.

Acting purely on instinct, Tsunade ripped open his shirt to reveal his chest before bringing her hands to his torso and apply healing chakra. After a couple of seconds, he gasped and started breathing heavy while she acted as his life support. Tsunade needed to do something for him. She couldn't treat his injuries effectively out here. She needed to get him to a hospital and she was also gonna need help to preform surgery. The internal damage to his body was even worse then the external damage and that was bad enough.

"SHIZUNE!" she screamed to the top of her lungs.

[Author's Notes] So as you can probably tell from the title of the Story, this is a Reboot of the original. I've been meaning to do this for a long while now and I'm glad that I've finally found the time. Just to give all readers something to look forward to, this will be a Tsunade and Naruto Adoption/Family story but also involve Tsunade and Jiraiya Romance and I figured since my first one was deleted, I'll make this a Naruto and Tayuya love story too. That however is gonna happen much, much later down the road.

As always, thank you all so much for reading my stories, please leave me either a Review or a PM and let me know what you think as I love getting them from my readers. If you have any other ideas that you wish to share, lay em on me and if I like it, I'll try and work it in.

This is Dragon1990 signing out :-)


	2. The Hospital

[Hokage's Office]

Hiruzen Sarutobi was currently in his office and burried up to his eyeballs in paperwork. One of the downsides of being the Hokage was all the papers that needed your signature and seal of approval. The Third really wanted to find a new successor to fill the role of Godaime Hokage because most of his days would end after signing hundreds of papers and he'd be going home with cramps in his wrist, throbbing eyes and a headache. The poor man was sixty one years old now and really hoped by now that he wouldn't have to continue doing this work anymore. He had hoped that by now he'd be enjoying a nice and easygoing retirement like playing board games with his friends or spending time with his family and loved ones. Sadly, he rarely had time for any of that.

Instead, he now spends half his time at his desk signing papers while the other half of the time, he'd have to mediate meetings between various clans within the village and listen to them all argue over who's money is the shiniest or who's clan is the most spoiled. The sort of thing that made him want a nice strong drink and then a good long nap. This was one of the reasons why he really wished he could have given his life to save Konoha instead of Minato and Kushina. No matter how he looks at it, he blames himself for what happened to the Yondaime Hokage and his wife. Not only did he believe that it should be better for the old to die then the young because by now, he's led a good life, but Minato's reign had lasted only a few years before he was killed.

The Hokage had just finished signing the last piece of paper on his desk when there came a knock at the door. "Come in." he replied, silently praying that it wasn't another load of paperwork. The door opened and in walked a woman with blonde hair and blue eyes, wearing a chunin vest. "Ah, Misa glad to see you again." he greeted with a smile, also glad to see that she wasn't carrying another load of paperwork.

The young woman smiled before responding. "It is good to see you again as well Hokage-Sama." she replied. "I hope I am not bothering you." she added.

"No not at all." he told her, getting up from his chair. "In fact, I had just finished some paperwork and was about to go and get some sushi for lunch." he explained.

"I would have thought that you'd be more eager to see Tsunade-Sama now that she's returned." she replied.

This surprised Hiruzen without a doubt. "Tsunade has come back?" he asked. "When was this?" he asked her, cracking a smile.

"She actually arrived a few hours ago Hokage-Sama." she answered. "Our men stationed at the gates didn't recognize her at first glance so we didn't even know she returned until just now." she explained.

"Well, this is wonderful news." he responded smiling. "I should very much like to see my old student again. Do you know where she is now?" he asked her.

"She's currently at the Konoha General Hospital." she answered.

His smile then dropped hearing that. "The Hospital? Why would she be there? Is she alright?" he asked.

"Tsunade-Sama is fine Hokage-Sama." she answered. "But she's been working for several hours on a patient in the Emergency Room." she told him.

"I see." he replied, looking down for a moment. Tsunade was a medical genius and one of the most skilled doctors/medical ninja on Earth. If someone needed attention, she couldn't ignore her Hippocratic Oath. "Who has she been attending to?" he asked her.

Misa was quiet for a moment before replying. "The Fox Child, Hokage-Sama." she answered.

This alarmed Hiruzen at hearing that. "Naruto was injured?! Why hasn't anybody told me?!" he asked worriedly.

"I apologize Sir, but I only learned it was Naruto shortly after I learned of Tsunade-Sama's return." she told him. "She's still there now, if you wish to speak with her." she told him.

Hiruzen huffed and then hardened his look towards the young woman before him. "Tell Danzo that there's a Traitor among the Anbu Black Ops." he ordered. "I want to know who was supposed to be guarding Naruto and why he ended up in the Hospital." he ordered.

Misa bowed her head and then stood up straight before replying. "Yes Hokage-Sama." and like that she was out the door, leaving Hiruzen alone in his office.

Hiruzen's hardened look then changed to a saddened one before letting out a tired sigh. 'Minato, Kushina, please forgive me for the harm that has befallen your Son' he prayed. 'And please forgive the village too. They act only out of fear, not hatred.' he added.

[Konoha General Hospital]

Tsunade and her apprentice Shizune were working frantically on the boy that she found on the streets in the market square in the ER. Both of them were multi tasking from trying to regulate both his breathing and blood pressure to repairing the internal and external damage that was done to him. Whoever beat this poor boy left him in the worse shape she'd ever seen someone his age. His right arm and leg were broken with his wrist also completely shattered. He had multiple cracks and breaks all over his rib cage and to make matters worse, several ribs were forced inward which punctured several vital organs including his left lung which caused it to collapse, his liver and stomach. He also had a broken sternum and jaw as well as a severe concussion.

Although surprised at first by the strange chakra she discovered when she began the operation, she was at least glad that it helped to repair the damage to his small and fragile body. Truth told, he was actually lucky to have it because that was one of the reasons he was able to make it as long as he did. If he didn't have the aid of this strange healing chakra, the poor boy probably wouldn't have made it. Once she finished operating, she and Shizune were able to breath much easier when they saw his breathing and heartbeat had stabilized. She took a step back to look him over. The poor kid was now on an iron lung and a heart monitor to show that his vitals were strong and functioning. All she could do now was watch and wait til he woke up from his coma.

Tsunade and Shizune stepped out of the ER and into the hallway once the boy's vitals were stable. Tsunade walked over to the bench that was outside the room and took a seat so she could rest. Shizune noticed that her teacher looked very tired.

"Tsunade-Sama, can I get you anything to drink from the vending machine?" she offered.

"If they have any green tea, that would be nice, thank you." she replied.

Shizune nodded her head and walked off with Tonton following her, leaving Tsunade alone to catch her breath. While she sat, she overheard some teenage girls talking in the distance. Years of shinobi training can really sharpen your senses and it was important to improve sight, smell and hearing for when you're about to go on a life a missions and such. As she listened in, she grew more and more disgusted from hearing these girls obviously talking about the boy.

"Why in the world would she bring that, "Thing" here?" asked one of them to her friend.

"I have absolutely no idea." she replied. "I can only guess she's not from around here because if she even a clue what "It" was, she probably wouldn't wanna come within a hundred yards of it, let alone bring it to the Hospital and preform surgery on it." she said in a nasty kinda voice, talking about him like he wasn't even human.

This really made her sick to her stomach. What did that poor boy do to deserve being beaten within inches of his life and be left on the streets to die? She had half a mind to walk up there and kick their skinny little asses when Shizune returned with some drinks.

"Green tea Tsunade-Sama." said Shizune with a smile, only for it to vanish when she saw her mentor's scowl. "Is there something wrong?" she asked her.

Tsunade took the can of tea and popped it open. "Nothing Shizune, just ignorance." she replied before taking a sip.

Shizune then took a seat to have her drink too as well as feed Tonton her treats. The both of them would sit quietly for a moment while Tsunade kept her eyes on the boy who slept in the ER. After a few more minutes, Shizune broke the ice.

"So, what are we gonna do about him Tsunade-Sama?" she asked her.

The blonde medic sighed and brought a hand up to pinch the bridge of her nose before responding. "I honestly don't really know." she told her. "I wanna find out who this Boy's Parents are and inform them of what happened to him and then figure out why Sensei would let this happen." she explained.

That was when they both heard foot steps approaching. Both ladies turn with Shizune smiling and Tsunade scowling at the sight of Konoha's Sandaime Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi.

"Hokage-Sama, it's so very nice to see you again." Shizune greeted happily with a bow.

The old man smiled and took his pipe from his mouth. "And it is good to see you once again Shizune. I see that you've grown into a lovely young woman." he commented.

Tsunade stood up and walked over to address her old sensei. "Sensei." she said finally.

"I was surprised to hear that you returned to Konoha Tsunade." he told her. "The last time I spoke with you, you said that you never wanted to come back again for as long as you drew breath." he added before smiling. "But when I heard that you came home, I can't tell you how happy it made me." he finished.

"And how did it make you feel when you heard about this poor Boy I found laying injured in the middle of the road?" she asked, crossing her arms. "Did you even hear about that?" she asked as well.

Hiruzen's smile vanished when she asked that. He sighed and turned to look into the room where her patient was now comatose. "This was never supposed to happen to him." he said sadly. "I had him under close guard so something like this wouldn't happen to him." he added.

"Who is he?" Tsunade asked. "And do his Parent know what happened yet?" she asked him as well.

Hiruzen turned around to face her again. "The Boy's name is Naruto Uzumaki." he answered. "And I'm afraid he doesn't have any Parents, the Boy is an orphan." he informed her.

"I see." she replied. "He's a Jinchuuriki, isn't he?" she asked him. Hiruzen was quiet for a moment after hearing the question. "If you were hoping to hide it, then you're not doing a very good job. While I worked on him, I noticed a second chakra that was helping to repair the damage done to his body. I'm well aware that Jinchuuriki have rare and unique abilities because of the Biju that are sealed away within them and healing factors are some of those abilities." she explained.

"Naruto is the Host of the Kyuubi No Kitsune." he replied. "I'm sure you're well aware of Konoha's tradition of choosing someone of the Uzumaki Clan to be the Kyuubi's Host." he told her.

"I haven't forgotten that Sensei." she said back. "The first two Hosts were Uzumaki's, one of them was my own Grandmother. What I find out of the ordinary is that this time, the Host for the Fox is a boy. Most of the time, they were girls." she observed.

"Naruto's case is a very special one." Hiruzen replied. "Both of his parents died during the Kyuubi attack five years ago and he was the only one available for the role. It was a regrettable decision to make, but we were all desperate to save the village. The Yondaime Hokage died hoping that Naruto would be venerated as a Hero for taking on such a heavy burden for the sake of the village, willing or unwilling." he explained.

At this point, Tsunade had heard enough and pointed at the poor boy in anger. "Does that look anything to you like the people think of or treat him as a Hero?!" she shouted. "When I found him, he had a broken arm with a completely shattered wrist, a broken leg and foot, over a dozen broken ribs that were forced inward which punctured several organs including his stomach, liver and one of his lungs. He also had a broken sternum and a severe head concussion. All the while, people were walking around and avoiding him like he was just litter on the side of the road. Even with his body's healing factor, had I not acted as quickly as I did, he probably wouldn't have made it. Does that sound like the sort of treatment a Hero deserves?!" she finished.

The old man sighed after looking over to Naruto again. "No." he replied. "The Fourth and I both overestimated the village, thinking they'd simply believe that Naruto was a Hero if we told them that. Instead, they act out against him this way like they always do around Jinchuuriki. I've even passed a law that forbids anybody under penalty of death from speaking of the Kyuubi. I had hoped that would allow a younger generation to be brought up without knowing the truth and then he'd be able to find acceptance." he said sadly before turning back to his student. "But there are still too many from the previous generation who openly teach their children to hate him. And now, the Anbu Guard I had watching him abandon's their post and Naruto pays the price." he finishes.

Tsunade shakes her head and places her hands on her hips. "Sensei, this isn't enough." she told him. "Naruto is a young child and cannot continue looking after himself. He needs proper care from a family. At the very least, why haven't you tried putting him in an orphanage?" she asked, remembering how Konoha had several built for children who lost their parents during the ninja wars.

"He did start out at one of them." he replied. "When Naruto was two, I removed him from the care of a nursemaid among the Sarutobi Clan as I was supposed to and had given him over to one of our village's orphanages. He, was there for only a few years and then ran away when he was four. When I found him, I learned that he was being abused and neglected by both the staff and the other children who've driven him away." he told her.

Tsunade sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose before crossing her arms. "Well, there has to be something you can do for him." she said. "Is there another orphanage you could place him in?" she asked.

"I've tried several other orphanages as well as several foster family programs, but nobody was willing to take him." he replied. "Tsunade, I may be Hokage, but I can't force someone to take him against their will so the apartment I have him at is the best I can do." he told her.

"I don't believe that." she snapped back. "There has to be something." she added.

"What other options are there? Nobody who is suitable is willing to take him and even the people who are willing can't be trusted." he told her.

Without even thinking, Tsunade finally said "I'll take him." There was a long and awkward silence between the three of them. Hiruzen just stood there with wide eyes and a pipe in his mouth while Shizune was dumbfounded by her mentor's words. Even Tsunade, although not showing it, couldn't really believe that she just said it. "I mean it. You want somebody to take better care of Naruto, I'll do it. I will take Naruto into my Family and raise him as my own Son." she stated.

Hiruzen was quiet for a few more minutes before sending out a ripple of chakra to signal his bodyguards. "Hokage-Sama." said two Anbu who flahed in bowing their heads and on one knee. One was a young man with silver colored hair wearing an Inu mask while their other was a young woman with violet colored hair and wearing a Neko mask.

"Naruto Uzumaki is within this room. I want both of you to stand guard over him while he sleeps while I speak with Tsunade in private." he instructed.

"Yes Sir." they both replied. They then got up and walked over to the door where Naruto lay resting. The man entered and closed the door behind him while the woman remained outside.

"Tsunade, Shizune, if you would follow me." he requested with both ladies following the Hokage into another room. Once the door was locked, he turned to speak once more. "I hope you understand that if I say yes to this, you won't be able to leave Konoha with him, right Tsunade?" he asked.

She sighed in annoyance from hearing that. "I take it that the Council will not allow him to leave the village?" she asked.

"I don't like having to force him to stay anymore than you do, but a day may come when we will need his power to defend ourselves and Naruto is our only Jinchuuriki." he answered.

"He is not a weapon, he's a human child!" she yelled.

"I am sorry Tsunade, but Naruto has to stay." he replied calmly. "As the Hokage, the village's protection is always a far higher priority. Personal feelings cannot sway this judgment. If I were to agree to let you take him, Naruto's life would be in grave danger. There are those who'd try to take him for the Fox's power or he could even accidentally unleash the Fox himself and put the village in danger too and that is something I cannot allow." he finished.

Tsunade calmed back down and crossed her arms again. "Okay, so can I adopt Naruto?" she asked him.

"I still need to know if you're the best person for the job Tsunade." he replied.

She then smirked and placed her hands on her hips. "Do you think I don't have what it takes Sensei? Do you doubt that I can handle a child?" she asked him.

"It's not your qualifications that are in question Tsunade, it's your motivations." he replied. "I need to know for certain that you are trustworthy of raising Naruto and depending on what your answer is, I may have to refuse another adoption request for him." he explained.

Her confident smirk vanished and her hands dropped to her hips from hearing that. "You mean there have been people who've wanted to adopt him?" she asked.

"You're not the first person to ask me for permission to adopt him Tsunade, you're only the most recent." he answered. "There have been a number of people who've come forward and requested permission to adopt him into their families and do to, compelling reasons, I've had to refuse them all." he told her.

"Well, who else has asked for him?" she asked.

"The first to do so was Tsume Inuzuka of the Inuzuka Clan." he started. "Shortly after her, Shibi and Shinobu of the Aburame Clan asked for him as well. I've also been visited by Inoichi and Makino Yamanaka, Shikaku and Yoshino Nara and Choza and Choko Akimichi. The last people to come and ask me were Fugaku and Mikoto Uchiha as well as Hiashi and Hitomi Hyuuga. Neither of them were able to meet the requirements so I've had to refuse them all. So I ask you Tsunade, why do you think you're worthy of him?" he asked her finally.

Tsunade was at a complete and total loss of words. What kind of game was Sarutobi-Sensei playing? She knew each of these clans and any one of them would have been more than enough to take care of a child. The Inuzukas were actually famous for taking orphans or "Strays" as they call them right off the streets. It wasn't unusual for the Aburame Clan to adopt children either and nor was it uncommon for the Yamanakas, the Naras or the Akimichis. What really surprised her was that even the very powerful and influential Uchiha and Hyuuga Clans wanted to adopt him and that's actually rare. And why would he refuse? If Naruto were to be adopted by either of these families, he be recognized as a noble, Jinchuuriki or not.

She then felt a hand on her shoulder and turned to see the Hokage again. "Tsunade, I would like you to sleep on this question before you give me your answer." he told her. "You'll find the Senju Compound is still intact with your house the way you left it." he explained.

"Did you, know I was coming back one day?" she asked him.

"I know you said originally that you never wanted to return, but I thought that if you ever decided to change your mind, I'd make sure you had a proper welcome back." he said with a smile.

She smiled at that. It was just like him to never give up hope for her or any of his students. "Alright, I'll think on it and then give you my answer." she told him.

"Then I would like you to come to my office tomorrow at noon and we'll talk then." he replied. He then headed to the door but stopped once he opened it. "And Tsunade, please really think about why you want this. I would really hate to have to say no to another adoption request." he finished before heading out the door.

[Later That Day]

Tsunade and Shizune would spend the rest of the day cleaning up her old house so it would be in a state fit to be seen and livable. It wasn't terrible mind you, but it did need a woman's touch to make it nice and clean again. There was a layer of dust all over the place and the smell of must from the years of nobody living here. Once the place was nice and clean, the both of them had a nice dinner together. Shizune noticed that she poured herself a glass of sake and spoke up about it.

"Tsunade-Sama, I think it's okay for tonight if you wanna have a drink or two, but if the Hokage says yes and lets you adopt Naruto, you're gonna have to really cut back on the drinking. The gambling too." she added.

Tsunade sighed and put her drink back down. "Right, I forgot I gotta prove that I can be a capable and responsible Mother for him." she replied.

Once dinner was done, Tsunade took a nice long and hot shower before changing into her night cloths, wishing Shizune and Tonton goodnight and then heading to bed. For a couple of hours, she'd actually have trouble getting to sleep. She still couldn't wrap her mind around the fact that other families did come forward and request permission to adopt Naruto and the Hokage refused them all. Why would he say no? What did they lack in what he was hoping for Naruto? And what could she say to convince the Hokage to convince him? There was also something else bothering her too. She offered to adopt him right on the spot without even really thinking about it at all. Why did she want this so badly? Why did she want to be his mother?

These things she would ponder for a little while longer until she finally fell asleep and remain so for the rest of the night under the soft silk covers of her bed. Tomorrow, she was gonna have to answer Sarutobi's question and convince him that she was suited to be a proper guardian for Naruto. She had to think of an answer to give him by noon.

[Anbu HQ]

The Hokage would arrive in the middle of the night to the Anbu Black Ops Headquarters to address the very issue involving why Naruto was beaten within inches of his life and why his chosen bodyguard wasn't there to save him. The double doors would open up and allow him entry to the dark and secure base where the villages Anbu Black Ops would operate. Upon entering the hallways, he'd be greeted by his fellow elders Homura, Koharu and Danzo. The four of them would then head into a room where the only light was a single window that let the moonlight in. All four elders would take seats behind a desk to act as judges for the trial. There were a half dozen other Anbu around the room and up on a platform was the convict herself.

Her armor had been stripped from her uniform so she was only wearing the black cloth shirt, pants and her shinobi sandals. She was a woman somewhere in her thirties with brown hair and eyes. She was covered in bruises all over including a black eye and a real nasty cut on her forehead causing blood to ooze down the side of her face. She had her hands tied tightly behind her back, a chakra tag on her chest which sealed away her chakra so she couldn't preform any escape jutsu and a noose around her neck. Judging by the sever beating she received from her fellow Anbu and the rope around her neck, it was clear she was facing serious criminal charges and a death penalty would be the punishment.

She only watched and glared at the Hokage with hatred in her eyes while he and the elders would read the files presented to them. After a short while, Danzo was the first to speak up.

"Yuriko Oyama, you have been charged with Desertion and Abandoning your Post. These crimes carry much weight because they endanger the village and everyone within. By law, this is an act of Treason and the punishment is Death. How do you plead?" he asked her.

First she turned her head to the side and spat some blood from her mouth before looking back to the Hokage again. "If you had any idea what I had to endure, you'd acknowledge that my actions were justified." she answered.

"Elaborate." said Homura.

"Five years ago, I lost my Husband and Son when the Nine Tailed Fox Demon went on a rampage and killed them." she began. "They died during the conflict, trying to save as many people as they could. The only reason I was spared from the carnage was because I was still on medical leave and looking after my Daughter who was born only a week before the attack. My Husband died trying to recover our Son's body and he was only twelve, having just graduated from the academy before he was killed. When I first saw there bodies, I could barely even recognize them. We couldn't even have an open casket for the funeral because they were so badly broken. And all this time, I've had to raise my last child all on my own." she cried.

"But then why did you abandon your Post?" asked Koharu.

"Because you all had the nerve to have me guard that miserable little monster." she shouted back. "For years I came forward and begged for justice so that my dead Husband and Son could finally rest in peace and you have always refused. So when some civilians came forward to finally do what this whole village has wanted for the longest time, I let them. And as I watched them beat that little bastard to a bloody pulp, I felt a feeling a satisfaction I haven't felt in such a long time." she concluded.

"So you have no regrets for you actions then?" asked Danzo.

"If I have any regrets at all, it's that I couldn't kill him myself." she answered.

It was then Hiruzen finally spoke up. "Yuriko, I am sorry for the lose of you Husband and Son. The deaths of our loved ones hurts us all, but you were given an order for an important assignment and you deserted your Post. Every job in the Anbu Black Ops is very important and crucial for the security of the village and by abandoning your Post, you put everyone in danger." he told her.

"To Hell with you." she snapped back. "And to Hell with the rest of the Council too." she added.

"I will give you one final chance to reconcile Yuriko." he replied calmly.

"If I was faced with the same decision again and knowing where I'd end up, I do it all over again." she told him.

"You sound so very sure of that." he replied.

"I fought and I lost. And now I rest." she finished. The Hokage looked over to another Anbu who placed his hand on a lever. Before it was pulled, she spoke one final time. "What of my Daughter?" she asked him.

"We'll see to it that she's taken care of." Danzo answered. "The Foundation has taken many orphans in the past and your child will become it's newest member." he told her.

And with that, the elders watched as the lever was pulled which triggered some ropes and pulleys to activate. The ropes that were attached began to tighten and then pulled the rope which then hoisted Yuriko off the platform up by her neck. They then watched as she gagged and gasped while flailing and kicking from the blood flow being cut off and the lack of air. After a minute, she was finally dead. Her now lifeless eyes hung open as she simply swayed back and forth on the gallows. That was when the four of them got back up and made their way out the door to go home. Danzo would be the last to exist the room and would turn back to give one final order to the Anbu left in the room.

"Get rid of the body." he told them.

[Author's Notes] So yeah, I've gotten a ton of people begging me to hurry up and update it and with another holiday around the corner, I figured what the hell? Anyways, thank you all so much for reading my stories, please leave me either a Review or a PM as I love getting them and let me know what you think as well as share any thoughts and ideas.

This is Dragon1990 saying Happy 4th of July!


	3. A Mother's Son

[Konoha General]

It was the dead of night and a single Anbu Black Op guard was standing in attention within a hospital room where a young boy slept while recovering from his surgery. The Anbu guard was a young man with silver colored hair and was wearing an Inu mask to conceal his face. He watched on as the boy's chest slowly raised and lowered from his steady breathing. He heard the sound of his heart monitor beeping which kept track of his heartbeat. He looked to see all the casts and bandages he was wrapped up in like the ones around his broken arm and leg. He also had some bandages wrapped around his head from where he was badly beaten and a small patch placed over his cheek from where he was cut and bruised. He was sad to see this.

'Naruto, what has this village done to you?' he asked in his mind while he watched the boy sleep.

He then saw him tense up a bit and how his heartbeat began to raise a little. Naruto groaned in his sleep and a single tear began to travel down his face. The guard let out another sigh when he saw the boy crying, even as he dreamed.

'He's having nightmares.' he thought.

[Tsunade's House]

Naruto wasn't the only one having nightmares that night. Tsunade was tossing and turning in her sleep as thoughts and images ran through her head. In her dream, she found herself standing on the top of the Hokage Tower, overlooking the village. From the top, she saw the main road that led all the way up to the front gates and behind her was the Hokage stone monument with the images of her grandfather, great granduncle, her sensei and the fourth, Minato Namikaze who died several years ago. The sky was bright with a warm sun and a gentle breeze with little to no clouds in the sky. The view of the village made her feel warm and a bit nostalgic as she saw the people coming and going in their day to day lives. It was a pleasant sight.

"Onee-Chan!" she heard from behind her. That voice made her heart skip a beat and she turned to see her long dead baby brother Nawaki. "What are you doing up here?" he asked with his big happy smile.

"Nawaki." she said, trying not to cry. She missed him so much that her heart ached from seeing his face again.

"Dan's been looking for you." he replied.

"Enjoying the view my love?" she heard another familiar voice ask. She turned to see the man she loved more than life itself, her dead fiancee Dan.

"Dan." she replied, bringing her hand up to her mouth to stop it from shaking in disbelief. Dan was fully dressed in the ceremonial robes of the Hokage which she thought made him look more handsome than ever. She saw Nakaki walk up and stand next to him and they both smiled at her as she took their images in. "I've missed you both so much." she said, beginning to walk forward. Then, her heart began to break again as the sky began to darken and the images of her brother and lover turned to ashes before her and dissolved in the wind which became stronger. Tears rolled down her cheeks when she saw them disappear before her and never to be seen again. She dropped to her knees and began to weep from losing them again.

She then found herself walking the streets of the village and it began to rain. She didn't know where she was going but kept on walking. As she walked, she felt the eyes of many others on her. As the people stared at her from afar, she felt a sense of loneliness. That was when someone called out to her, calling her a freak. She turned to demand who would dare to call her such, but then noticed that the world looked so much bigger now. That was when she realized that it was actually her who became much smaller. She was now a five year old little girl and felt scared and helpless all by herself. She looked to see shadows all around her of adults who began cursing her and calling her monster or a demon. She didn't know what to do then so she ran.

While she ran, the names they called her became louder and more hateful. There were others who called for someone to hurt and kill her. Each name and insult felt like another painful jab into her heart and by the time she managed to get away from them, the emotions were too much to bear. The little Tsunade turned a corner into a dark ally way and then fell to her knees to cry. The rain continued to fall from the sky and got heavier while the little girl cried and cried her little eyes out. Why was everyone so cold and cruel to her? What did she do wrong? She felt so lonely and afraid. She wanted someone to make her feel better, but who was she to cry out for? Where were her mother and father? Why didn't they come when she called for them.

Then, she heard someone else crying. In an instant, all that pain and loneliness was gone and she no longer was afraid or longing for help. Instead, she wondered where that crying came from. She looked around until she saw that the crying was coming from a broken mirror that was sitting in the corner of the ally way. She moved to see what was in it and when she stood in front of it, there wasn't a reflection of herself, but of young Naruto who was on his knees with his face buried into his hands. She heard his cries and him calling out for someone to help him. Without even thinking, she reached forward as if to enter the mirror and then took hold of Naruto under his arms and lifted him out of the glass mirror to bring him to her.

Now she was an adult woman again and lifted the crying Naruto up into her arms to hold him tightly to her. When she held him, she felt all the sadness and sorrow, all the pain and loneliness, everything she felt at the hands of those cruel people, she saw it in him. She held him in her arms, hugging him to her and letting him hug her back as tightly as he could, desperate to not be let go.

"It's alright Naruto." she said softly to try and stop his crying. "You're safe now and you don't need to be sad or afraid anymore. I've got you now." she told him, trying to comfort the poor lonely child.

Tsunade would reawaken and sweating profusely as the clear images of her dream would process through her head. She was also alarmed to see tears rolling down her cheeks which she wiped off with her hand. Looking over to her end table, she saw that it was already morning time and the sun was beginning to shine through her bedroom window. She sighed and got out from under her covers to get up. She would first go to the bathroom to get her day started with a nice long hot shower and then head to the kitchen to get her breakfast. Shizune was already awake and greeted her mentor with her cheery smile before bringing her some fresh squeezed orange juice and some eggs and rice with some sausage links and toast.

She greeted her pupil with a warm smile and had her morning meal with her before getting up and putting her coat on.

"Tsunade-Sama, where are you going this early?" asked the young brunette.

"To see the Hokage." she replied.

"But I thought that he wasn't expecting you today until noon." she said with one of her brows raising a bit in curiosity.

"I know." she replied. "But I feel that I'm ready to talk with him now." she told her.

She then told her that she would be back later today and hopefully, with Naruto's adoption papers.

[Hokage's Office]

Hiruzen was in his office early that morning like he always was. He didn't really have much of a choice given that he'd have to start signing tons of paperwork throughout most of the day. If he didn't get started by 10 am, he'd never be finished by the end of the day and would have an even larger pile of paperwork waiting for him by the following day. Retirement was looking more and more appealing each day and he was always wishing that another suitable replacement would be selected soon to fill the role of Godaime Hokage. He'd be able to spend less time with office work and politics and more time with his family and loved ones which was what he really wanted to do by now. He knew he was getting way too old for this job.

That was when he heard a knock at the door and rolled his eyes, knowing it was one of his assistance who likely had more paperwork for him to stamp and approve. "Come in." he answered from behind his desk. He was actually surprised to see Tsunade enter the room instead. "Tsunade?" he asked when he saw the blonde medical ninja.

"Good morning Sensei." she greeted with a small smile before closing the door behind her.

"Good morning to you as well Tsunade." he greeted with a smile. "I'm surprised to see you this early. I wasn't expecting you for at least a few more hours." he told her.

"I know and I apologize if I'm interrupting anything Sensei." she replied. "But I'm ready to give you my answer." she told him.

Hiruzen wasn't expecting to hear her say that, but he ushered her to come in and take a seat. She sat across from him at his desk and waited for him to begin. He first inhaled some smoke through his pipe before blowing it back out through his lips and nostrils.

"Before we begin Tsunade, I need you to be fully aware that if I agree to this and I still can't promise that I will, you'll understand that you'll be fully responsible for Naruto's safety and his well being as is the role of a parent or guardian. Should you ever fail to keep him safe from those who would do him harm, we'll be under obligation to remove him from your custody. Am I understood?" he asked her.

"Yes." she replied.

"Also, if I agree in allowing you permission to adopt him, you can never leave Konoha with him. Once you choose to leave the village again, you will give up custody to us once more." he told her.

"You mean Naruto has to stay here?" she asked looking a little mad. "In a village that treats him like dirt?" she asked as well.

"It's village law Tsunade." he replied. "I don't like it either, but Naruto has to stay. As much as you or I don't like it, Naruto is far too valuable to the village to let leave. A day may come when we're forced to go to war or will need to defend ourselves and he's our only Jinchuuriki. And if that's not enough, he could be put in danger of someone who covets the power of the Kitsune who'll try and come after him. Or he could even unleash the Fox Spirit by accident and the danger would grow to us. Naruto has to stay Tsunade and so long as you would be his legal guardian, you would have to stay as well. The law is the law and I have to enforce it. Do you understand Tsunade?" asked the elderly man from behind his desk.

Tsunade was quiet and sighed in frustration but she nodded her head. It was really hypocritical of them to say that Naruto was extremely valuable to the village when not two days ago, he was beaten within inches of his life and left in the middle of the street like yesterday's trash. She had hoped that once she was granted permission to adopt him, if she was granted permission that is, that she could simply leave the village with him and he could live on the road with her. Although, now that she really did think about it, living on the road from hotel to hotel isn't really the way to raise a child. He would need a real place to call home and to lay down roots. She didn't want to admit it, but there was some good reasons to have Naruto remain here.

"So now I ask you Tsunade, why should I grant you permission to adopt the Host of the Nine Tailed Fox?" he asked. "What makes you think you're worthy?" he finished.

Tsunade let out a gentle sigh before looking her old sensei in the eye and answering. "To be honest with you Sensei, I don't really know if I am worthy." she told him. Hiruzen didn't react to that but kept his vision on her and his hands on his desk before him. "I know very little in general about raising children and I'll even admit that I have bad habits which would make raising a child difficult should you allow me to take him in. But I'll say this, I want to take care of Naruto." she said calmly but firmly. "I want to be a Mother for a child who is desperately in need of one. I want to give Naruto something he needs which is warmth, comfort and a family who'll help him grow up and be ready for whatever life sends his way." she told him.

"But most importantly, no child should ever have to live their lives without knowing the love of a Mother or the warmth of a family." she continued. "I can give him that. I have no clue how this will work out in the end and I know it won't be easy, but I want to make the sacrifices for him not because I feel I have to but because I know I want to." she explained.

"And why do you want to Tsunade?" he asked her. "Why do you wish to be Naruto's Mother?" he asked as well.

"I don't know why I want this as badly as I do, all I can say is that this is what I feel in the bottom of my heart. That I wish to give Naruto a real home and a family who will love him, support him and be there for him while he grows up." she replied. "I can think of no other reason to give you so it's now up to you." she finished.

Hiruzen was quiet for a short while but let out another puff of smoke before smiling and responding. "That was all I needed to hear Tsunade." he told her.

Her eyes widened and she smiled at his reply. "Then you'll do it? You'll let me adopt him?" she asked him.

She watched as he got up out of his chair and walked over to a filing cabinet before opening it up and pulling out a file. "I've waited a long time to finally see someone sign this paper and I can't tell you how happy I am to see you be the one to sign it." he told her as he took his seat at his desk again. He placed the file on his desk and opened it up before pulling out a single sheet of paper and presenting it to her. "Go ahead and read it if you wish." he told her.

Tsunade picked it up and read it and on the certificate, it read...

 _"The signing of this certificate legalizes the adoption of Naruto Uzumaki and grants full custody and responsibility to the person of which who's name is written. The signature of the legal guardian fully acknowledge that they're to see to the child's safety and well being and are to be fully trusted by the Hokage with the knowledge of his heritage and his inheritance he is to receive upon his rightful age. The signing of this certificate means that the adoptive parent fully understands the rules and restrictions as well as the terms in taking him under their care. Failure to abide by the terms and conditions agreed upon by the guardian and Hokage will result in the termination of the certificate and the removal of the child from the guardian's custody."_

At the bottom was a dotted line that required the signature and a sample of blood at the end. The blood was to prove that Tsunade was indeed the one who signed it and it wasn't someone forging her signature. Beneath that was where the Hokage was to sign and stamp to show his approval. One of the lines actually caught her attention.

"Naruto has a heritage?" she asked him.

"He does indeed." he replied. "And it's a carefully guarded secret in Konoha Tsunade. More so than his identity as the Kyuubi's Jinchuuriki." he told her.

"Well, what is it?" she asked him, wanting to know what his background is and why it's so secret.

"I'm sorry Tsunade, but I can't tell you yet." she told her. "Do to the risk of security to Naruto's well being and the village, considerable time and preparation is needed before I can tell you anything at all about it." he explained.

"So I can't know the secret until I sign the document." she replied.

"You don't have to if you don't want to. But once you do so and are his legal parent, I'll tell you once I've made sure it's safe to share the truth." he replied.

She was wondering why this was such an important secret, but she decided that it could wait. Tsunade picked up the pen and signed her name on the dotted line neatly before bringing her thumb up to her lips and biting into it before drawing a little blood and then smearing it next to her name. She then turned the paper around and handed it to her sensei and waited to see him approve it. Hiruzen looked it over and saw her signature as well as her blood and nodded, seeing that everything was in order. He then signed and dated the bottom line and then stamped it with the Hokage seal of approval before putting it back into the file.

"I'll make a copy at the end of the day and then give you the original next time to return to my office Tsunade." he told her. "As of now, you are officially Naruto's new Mother and legal guardian. I'll allow you to take him home with you when he recovers from his injuries." he told her with a smile.

Tsunade smiled back at that. She actually couldn't believe that this was happening. She was now a parent and had a son. "Any news on his condition?" she asked him.

"Stable." he replied. "He hasn't awaken yet but his injuries have healed remarkably since the last time you were there. I suspect that he should be waking really soon and he's gonna be in for a real surprise." he smiled.

[Later]

Tsunade would return to her house and explain everything to Shizune, telling her that she was allowed to adopt Naruto and bring him into her home and family.

"Tsunade-Sama, that's wonderful to hear." she replied with a cheery grin. "I know you'll do a great job as a mother." she told her.

"Right. Well I hope I'm up for it." she said as she opened up one of her cabinets. "It's been a long time since I even considered the decision to become a parent and I still have no real experience with raising children." she told her.

"I'm sure you'll do fine." she replied. "You've shown that you really care for him when you fought as hard as you could to save his life and back then, you didn't even know his name. It'll be a learning experience for you but I'm sure you're up for it. I don't think that the Hokage would have agreed to this if he didn't believe in you either. And I'll be here to help you out any time you need me." she told her.

Tsunade smiled at that. "Thank you Shizune." she replied.

"Of course." she said before she noticed that she brought out a bottle of sake and opened it up. "Um, Tsunade-Sama, I'm sure it'll be fine since he's not here yet. But once Naruto begins living here on the Senju compound with us, you'll really need to cut back on the drinking." she said which made Tsunade's smile drop. "That also goes for the gambling. You'll need money to pay for Naruto's food, clothing, toys and later, his education when he decides what he wants to do with his life. Plus as a mother, you'll want to set a good example for Naruto and drinking or gambling aren't really the right impressions you'll want to make." she added.

Tsunade wasn't happy to hear that but she knew that she was right. She nodded and then poured herself one quick glass before downing it. She figured that for now, one or two drinks wouldn't hurt. Once Naruto moves in with her, she'll reserve drinking for special occasions like holidays or celebrations. She also knew that she was right about gambling too. As much as she liked playing cards, lottery machines or games that involved throwing dice, she needed to save up money to get Naruto decent clothing and food. She may not have liked the idea, but she knew that being a parent now meant that she was going to have to make sacrifices for her new son and that was what she agreed to do when she signed that certificate.

"Shizune." she said, getting her pupil's attention once more. "I'd like for you to come with me." she told her.

"Where are we going?" she asked.

"I was given the key to Naruto's apartment by the Hokage." she replied. "We're going to go there and move all his things here. I want to prepare a room just for him and make sure that he has all his belongings." she told her.

"I understand Tsunade-Sama." she replied. "Tonton!" she called out which was followed by the little piglet coming to her. "Let's go." she told her.

[Naruto's Apartment]

Tsunade was beyond disgusted with the condition of Naruto's apartment. How the Hokage was able to sleep at night knowing that a five year old was living in such a horrible living condition was unbelievable. The floors were very dirty with clutter piling up in the corners and sides. She saw mold growing on the ceiling and it was slowly making it's way down the walls. The kitchen counter tops were covered in grime and grease and there were dirty dishes piled up in the sink. The kitchen table wasn't much to look at either as there was some rotting food still on the plate that was left there and the garbage can was overflowing with trash. She could have sworn she saw a couple of mice scurry around the floor and it made her sick.

The living room wasn't much better. The sofa and love seat he had were old and worn with patches of fabric coming off as well as legs missing from underneath so that they would sit in awkward positions. Would it have killed the Hokage to send someone to clean his house for him from time to time? Naruto was only five years old and not capable yet of cleaning an apartment like this one all by himself. And if that's not bad enough, Naruto could wined up getting really sick if he were to cut himself or eat something past it's expiration date. It's not like he'd be able to tell because she wouldn't have been surprised if the poor child didn't know how to read. The fridge itself didn't work which meant the food was definitely bad by now.

And then there was the bedroom which made both her and Shizune gag. His cloths were scattered all over the floor and left there and the smell was pretty bad here too. Just like in the kitchen and living room, there was mold growing on the ceiling and down the walls which only made the place stink to high heaven. His dresser drawers looked like they were broken and could no longer open and close. The worst part was the bed itself. The mattress was beyond filthy with stains on them that looked ancient. The blankets were no better, there were springs sticking up through the top and to her and Shizune's horror, when they lifted it up to check underneath, the found a massive colony of bedbugs which made them both want to vomit.

Both of them noticed that there weren't a whole lot of personal possessions here either. He must not have gotten a lot of presents which made her sad to think about it. It probably would have been nice if he was given some toys to play with. The one thing that looked nice in the whole house was a plant up on the window. Written on it in the Hokage's handwriting was "Mr. Ukki." She gently took it down and added some water from the sink. If she had to guess, this was his one personal possession and she could tell by how healthy the leaves were that he took excellent care of it. This plant must have been one of the few gifts that the Hokage got for him and it must have been special to him if he was able to keep it this long.

"I think this plant may be the only thing we're gonna be able to take from this apartment Shizune." she told her. "This place is practically a health hazard and is infested with parasites so I can't risk bringing any of these things back with us to the compound." she told her.

"But that doesn't leave a whole lot for Naruto anymore Tsunade-Sama." she replied. "Do you plan on buying some more cloths and furniture for him?" she asked her.

"I've got some money to spend on him and it's necessary that he be raised in a safe and clean environment." she replied.

"Then you're gonna take Naruto shopping with you once he wakes up?" she asked with a smile.

"That's the plan." she answered. "I'll go ahead and buy him a new bed and dresser with a working lamp in his new bedroom. Once he wakes up, we'll go shopping for some clothing and some of his favorite food. I'm sure he'd also like a few toys to play with too." she added.

Both ladies agreed that this is what they would do once it was time for them to take Naruto home. Shizune picked up Tonton and Tsunade brought the plant with her as they left the apartment together. She made a mental note to inform the Hokage that this apartment was no longer a suitable place for anybody and had to be fumigated and closed down for good. She also figured that she'd yell at him for making Naruto live in such a horrid place like this to begin with. Orphan or not, a child needed to live in a safe and clean environment and it's inexcusable for the village leader to allow Naruto who was supposed to be under the council's care until he was adopted to live in such a filthy place. Seems like Hiruzen lost his touch in ruling his village.

[Two Days Later]

Naruto stirred a little before his eyes finally opened up. He looked around for a bit to see that he was in a hospital room. He sighed when he realized this. It's not the first time since he was rushed to the ER and he was sure this would probably not be the last either. He sat up in his bed with a depressed look on his face.

"Hello Naruto." he heard and turned to see a man in an Anbu Black Ops uniform. He was wearing an Inu mask and had silver colored hair. "I'm pleased to see that you woke up." he told him.

"Thank you." he said without smiling.

"What's wrong?" he asked him.

"Once I leave, everyone's just gonna be mean and hate me again." he replied.

"You don't really expect that from everyone do you?" he asked.

"It's how they've always treated me." he told the Anbu. "The Old Man is the only one who's really nice to me and I don't get to see him that much either. He's too busy." he told him.

"Speaking of the Hokage, he wanted me to inform him when you were awake. He said he had some wonderful news for you." he told him.

Naruto was surprised by that and looked up at the silver haired man behind the mask. "Like what?" he asked him.

"I don't know. I'll have to go and get him for you." he replied. "Just wait here." he told him and he was gone in a flash.

Naruto sat in his bed and waited while feeling a little anxious. What kind of good news did the Hokage have for him? Did he tell the villagers to stop being mean to him? Was he gonna be allowed to play with the other boys and girls? He probably waited for about twenty minutes before the door opened up. Naruto turned to see the Hokage enter the room and behind him was a woman with blonde hair and brown eyes. She was smiling at him too which was something he really wasn't used to. She also looked like she wanted something from him. Behind her was another younger looking woman with onyx colored eyes and black hair. She also smiled at him which made him more hopeful that people were gonna be nice to him now.

"Good morning Naruto." the Hokage greeted with a warm smile. "Are you feeling better?" he asked him.

"Yeah. I don't hurt anymore and I feel like I'm better." he answered.

"That is wonderful to hear." he replied.

"Old Man, the Anbu Guard who was here told me that you had good news. Is that true?" he asked him.

"Indeed I do Naruto." he replied. "I have someone with me I would like to introduce you to." he said before stepping aside. "This is Tsunade. She was my student from the Ninja Academy and she's a friend of mine. She wants to tell you something important." he told him.

Naruto watched a little nervously as she stepped forward and stood before his bed. Once again, Naruto was at a loss. She looked like she wanted something from him.

"Hello Naruto. Do you know what the Hokage and I have been talking about?" she asked him. Naruto shook his head and she smiled again. "The Hokage gave me permission to adopt you." she told him.

Naruto raised a brow at that and tilted his head a little. "What does that mean?" he asked her.

Tsunade answered by getting down on her knees so she could speak with him at eye level. He then felt her take his hand in one of her own. He was amazed at how warm and soft her hand felt. "It means Naruto, that I want to be your new Mother." she answered. "And it means that I want you to be my new Son." she told him.

Naruto's eyes opened wide in shock. Was that true? Was he gonna really have a mom? He was at such a loss for words, that he could only respond with "R-Really?"

She nodded her head gently. "That's right Naruto. I want you to come home with me and be a part of my Family." she told him.

A smile was beginning to spread across his face as tears began to form in the corner of his eyes. "Y-You want me?" he asked chocking on his words as emotions were beginning to go through the roof.

"Yes I do Naruto." she answered. "And do you want me too?" she asked him.

No longer able to contain his excitement, Naruto burst from his bed with such force that when she caught him in her arms, she was forced to stand up. Naruto answered her question with an excited "YES!" which made her and everyone else smile and laugh. Tsunade hugged him in her arms and he held on tightly almost afraid that if he did, he'd lose her. For the first time in Naruto Uzumaki's young life, he felt like he had a real chance to be happy. That moment, he shed a new kind of tear. Tears of joy began to roll down his whiskered cheeks as he laughed and hugged her to him. "I have a Mom!' he cheered, hoping the whole world could hear him. "I have a Mom!"

[Author's Notes] Sorry it took so damn long but I've had a lot I was working on and other stories were only half of it. But now that my writer's block has cleared and I'm motivated again, I should start updating this story and many of my other stories at a more frequent pace.

As always, thank you all so much for reading my stories. Please leave me either a Review or a PM and let me know what you all think and if you have any thoughts or ideas, please lay em on me because I love hearing from my readers.

This is Dragon1990 signing out :-)


	4. A Day As A Mother

[Konoha General]

Naruto had only just checked out of the hospital and was now standing outside with his new mother Tsunade, the Hokage, Shizune and Tonton. He was so excited that he was finally adopted and part of a family now that he could barely contain it. While his new mom was talking to the elderly man, he was smiling and thinking about all the great things he wanted to do with his new mother. He thought maybe he could go to the park and ask her to push him on the swings like he'd seen other parents do for their kids. He also thought he could take her to his favorite ramen shack and introduce him to his friends Teuchi and Ayame Ichiraku and have some ramen with her. He also thought he could ask to have a real birthday party like all the other kids.

Tsunade was finishing up her talk with her sensei about plans for the coming days. "I really appreciate you letting me take care of him Sensei." she said smiling to Hiruzen.

"I'm the one who should be thanking you Tsunade." he replied. "I've been praying for someone to adopt him for so long and now I've found the perfect person for the job." he told her. He then looked down to Naruto who was still grinning happily. "Be a good boy and listen to your Mother Naruto." he said to the little boy. "She is very kind and wise and will take care of you." he added.

"I promise Old Man." he replied still grinning.

Hiruzen then looked back up to Tsunade. "I'll need a day or two and then I'll summon you to my office again to tell you the truth." he told her in a slightly more serious tone.

She knew he was referring to Naruto's true heritage and nodded. "I understand." she replied.

After that, they said their goodbyes and went their separate ways. Tsunade, Shizune, Naruto and Tonton went on their way while Hiruzen headed back to his office to resume his work.

[Konoha Market]

While Tsunade walked with her new young son, she noticed some looks from the people around her. In fact, she noticed that they were directed at Naruto and many of them were actually very unfriendly. She did her best to ignore them because she didn't want to ruin the moment for Naruto. She smiled seeing how happy he looked at the moment. He ran around with Tonton which she and Shizune thought was cute. After a few minutes of playing with the little piglet, Naruto then decided to walk side by side with his mother.

"Hey Mom?" he asked her.

Tsunade looked to the left to reply to her son. "Yes Naruto?" she asked.

"Where are you and Oneechan taking me?" he asked her.

Tsunade smiled down at him before responding. "First, we're heading out to buy you some new cloths." she told him. "You didn't have a whole lot when we were at your apartment not long ago and many of them we weren't able to keep. So Shizune and I are gonna take you out to buy some more, newer and nicer cloths for you to wear." she explained.

"Oh." he replied before looking ahead while they walked. Two seconds later, he looked back up at her again. "Hey Mom?" he asked up to her.

She looked back down to him in response. "Yes Naruto?" she asked back.

"I'm a little hungry. Can we get something to eat?" he asked her.

"As it just so happens, Shizune and I needed to do some grocery shopping." she answered. "We need to buy a lot so we'll have food to last the week but I'll let you pick out plenty of your favorite snacks too, okay?" she asked back.

"Okay." he replied before looking forward again. Two more seconds later, he looked back up to her a third time. "Hey Mom?" he asked.

Again, she looked back to him. "Yes Naruto?" she asked once more.

"Can I please hold your hand?" he asked reaching up.

Tsunade smiled and took his hand gently in hers in response. "You most certainly may." she answered.

While Tsunade walked with Naruto's hand in hers, Shizune was thinking about Naruto's earlier question. 'Awwww, he's calling me Oneechan now.' she thought, thinking it was gonna be fun to be a surrogate big sister.

More people would continue to stare at the three of them, or more accurately at Naruto, but they just went on with their day without a care as they headed to the market to shop for cloths for Naruto.

[Hokage's Office]

Sarutobi was in his office once again picking up where he left off with his paperwork. There were several massive stacks of sheets and folders that needed his attention so he knew he was gonna be stuck at his desk once again all day long. Despite this, he was actually in a good mood. He was still thinking about how happy Naruto was since Tsunade took him in. He'd been wanting someone to adopt him for a very long time now and he believed that Tsunade was perfect for the job. Now Naruto had his chance of being raised properly by a positive role model and wouldn't have to live his whole life alone and unwanted. Now he just wished he could do something about the villagers' attitude towards him. Perhaps Tsunade raising him would change her minds.

Eventually, there came a knock at the door so he called for them to enter. He was pleased to see his trusted advisers and respected members on his council. The elders Homura, Koharu and Danzo.

"Ah, Homura, Koharu, Danzo, I wasn't expecting either of you in my office today." he greeted. "How may I help you?" he asked them.

"For starters Hiruzen, you can explain to us why you have granted custody of our village's most important weapon to Tsunade." replied Danzo. "Last time I checked, the Host of the Kyuubi is meant to remain within the custody of the council." he told him.

The Third calmly placed his hands on his desk before him and then responded. "I have granted Tsunade permission to adopt Naruto because I believe that she is capable of not only protecting him but also taking care of him." he replied. "Tsunade is one of the strongest women in the world and is more than able to keep him safe from any and all threats." he added.

"Hiruzen, it was agreed between the four of us that Naruto couldn't be adopted by anyone for the good of the village." said Homura. "You can't have forgotten that already now have you?" he asked him.

"I'm not so old that I'm quick to miss your word games old friend." he replied. "It was agreed between us that Naruto couldn't be adopted by any of our Shinobi Clans. But I never agreed that Naruto couldn't be welcomed into a family at all, now did I?" he asked back.

"Have you forgotten that Tsunade is a descendant of the Senju Clan?" Koharu asked him. "By allowing her to adopt him, you have broken the agreement and shifted the balance of the village we've worked hard to maintain." she told him.

"Tsunade is the last living descendant of the Senju Clan Koharu." he replied. "She has no real legal authority like Hiashi, Fugaku or any of the other Clan Leaders do and she isn't involved in any politics here in the village. Besides, she's more related to the Uzumaki Clan than anything else so I believe it rather appropriate that Naruto be adopted and raised by his own blood and kin." he explained.

"Hiruzen, we must ask on behalf of the village that Naruto be returned to the custody and protection of the Village Council." said Homura sternly.

"No." he simply replied.

"Hiruzen, we must insist." said Koharu. "Naruto must remain within the Council's custody. It is best for everyone." she told him.

Hiruzen was getting tired of this and decided to put his foot down. "Tell me something you three." he replied. "Which one of you came to Naruto's aid when he was abandoned by the Anbu Guard we chose? A guard from the Foundation I might add." he said which got him a nasty look from Danzo. "Which one of you rushed him back to the hospital, nursed him back to health and offered him the love and care of a parent?" he asked. "It seems to me that you three are far more interested in maintaining your own political standing. You don't really care about Naruto at all, do you?" he asked them.

Both Homura and Koharu were quiet at that but Danzo spoke up. "Hiruzen, for the good of the village..." he began before he was cut off.

"Enough, I have already made my decision." replied the old Hokage. "I have granted Tsunade full custody and legal guardianship of Naruto. As your friend, I am grateful to the three of you for your advice and council you've offered over the years. But as your Hokage, you will remember who is the real authority of this village and you will respect my decisions." he finished.

The three of them were quiet but Homura eventually spoke first. "Very well Hiruzen, I'll defer to your judgement in this matter." he said to him.

"As will I, if you believe this is best." replied Koharu.

Danzo was quiet for the longest time but eventually spoke up as well. "I don't believe that this is the right decision to make, but I do believe that you believe otherwise and that you will do what is best for us all in the end." he told him.

Hiruzen smiled and sat back in his chair. "Thank you my friends. Now, is there anything else you needed?" he asked them.

"No, thank you for your time Hiruzen." replied Homura who bowed his head in respect.

All three of them paid their respects before leaving him to return to his work. 'Retirement feels more and more appealing right about now.' he thought as he resumed reading the next file he was to open.

[With Tsunade And Naruto]

Tsunade was currently at a shop and looking for new cloths for Naruto. She had already picked out several nice new shirts and pants for him as well as a few new pairs of shoes and sandals. She learned very quickly that Naruto really liked the color orange so most of the cloths he wanted were either orange or had orange on them. Naruto would take the cloths that they would pick out, run into the changing room and come back out after a minute or two to let Tsunade and Shizune see him in his new cloths. Then he would run back in to get changed again. At the end of the trip, Naruto would receive over a half dozen more outfits to last him the week including three new pairs of pajamas to wear for bed.

Once she had the money, Tsunade would take her son out for more cloths on trips just like this one. After they finished at the checkout, Tsunade led them to a grocery store so they could stock up on food. She smiled on the way there when Naruto reached up to take her by the hand so he could walk with her like before. Once they entered, she took one of the baskets and handed it to Naruto.

"Now Naruto." she began. "Shizune and I are gonna grab some much needed ingredients for some recipes we'll be having for dinner the next couple of days. I would like you to fill that basket with things you'd like to have for lunch and for snacks as well. Can you do that and meet me up at the counter?" she asked him.

Naruto nodded and ran off while she and her student started shopping. After only a couple of minutes however, Naruto returned with his full shopping basket. "I'm done." he told her.

Tsunade noticed that there was only packs of pot ramen in it. Many different flavors and varieties, but the basket only had just that. "I take it you like ramen then?" she asked him.

"It's the best food ever." he replied with a grin.

Tsunade sighed at that. "Naruto, I understand that you like ramen and I do to. But it's not very healthy to eat one and only one thing all the time all day and every day." she told him.

"But that's all I ate back in my old apartment and the Old Man didn't have a problem with it." he replied.

'Clearly, Sensei didn't bother telling Naruto about the importance of a well balanced diet.' she thought to herself. "That may be so Naruto. But now that you're living with us, I want you to try a lot more different foods. You're not going to grow up very big or strong if all you eat is ramen." she explained.

"Awww." he replied, not liking having to give up all of this.

Tsunade didn't want to spoil him by caving in but she also didn't think it would hurt to let him stock up on some ramen as well. She then thought she'd try a compromise. "I'll tell you what, why don't you put half of what's in the basket back on the shelves and then fill it with some other foods. I'll let you keep the other half of the ramen and you can have that along with everything else. Does that sound fair?" she asked.

Naruto looked back down into the basket and figured that he'd still have plenty of ramen to last the week if he filled the other half with something else. He then smiled and nodded his head before running back to do as his mom suggested. Tsunade was pleased he was at least willing to negotiate with her on that and wasn't going to fight her over it. She would then continue shopping around finding a nice variety of meat, fish, some fruit and vegetables as well as some bread for sandwiches and some spices and other ingredients. She and Shizune agreed that they would take turns with the cooking from here on out. It wouldn't be fair if one or the other was the only one cooking the meals. Soon, Naruto came back with a more acceptable variety of snacks.

The three of them then made their way to the clerk who was reading a paper and wasn't paying too much attention. But he did hear them come up and turned to look and see. He then greeted both ladies with a friendly smile before turning to face them properly.

"Good afternoon ladies." he said to both Tsunade and her apprentice. "I hope you found everything okay." he told them.

"Everything on our list and then some." replied Tsunade. "I'm confident that I'll be coming back in the future." she told him.

"Glad to hear it." he replied before focusing on her a little more. "Y'know, I can't help but feel like I've seen you somewhere." he said bringing a hand up to scratch his chin.

"I've been gone from this village for a very long time but I've come back and now I'm here to stay." she replied.

"Well welcome back." he said in response. "Would you like to hand me your items so we can begin?" he asked. Tsunade nodded and started unpacking everything in the cart. A second later, the guy then looked really angry when he saw Naruto behind her. "HEY!" he shouted loudly, surprising Tsunade and Shizune and causing Naruto to jump. "I told you that you're not allowed in my store!" He shouted to the little boy who then hung his head. "Now get the hell out before I call the guards on you, you little bastard!" he shouted while pointing at the door.

Tsunade responded by slamming her fist onto the counter and now taking him back. "Don't you yell at him you son of a bitch!" she shouted angrily.

"E-Excuse me?!" he replied shocked by her response.

"If you know what's good for you then you had better say you're sorry to him!" she yelled with a cold and murderous look in her eyes.

"Lady, do you have any idea who or what that thing is?!" he asked as if he really couldn't believe she was defending him.

"He's not a thing, he is my Son and you had better apologize to him right now!" she yelled.

"S-Son?!" he asked in disbelief, not knowing that the kid actually had a mother given that he'd never seen him with one.

"Yes." she replied before crossing her arms. "Allow me to properly introduce myself. I am Tsunade. One of the three Sannin, student to the Sandaime Hokage and Granddaughter of the Shodaime Hokage and I'm Naruto Uzumaki's Adopted Mother. Now you had better apologize to him right now before I force feed you your own teeth!" she said with burning anger in her voice.

Sweat was pouring down the guys face like drops of rain when he heard her name and only responded with "TS-TS-TS-TS-TS-TSUNADE-SAMA?!" he freaked.

Seconds later, they paid for their groceries after the guy said he was sorry and begged Tsunade for her forgiveness. Once outside, she made a mental note not to go shopping there anymore. She would refuse to do any further business with someone who'd treat her son like that. The blonde medic then looked down to see that Naruto still looked sad. She got down on her knees to speak with him at his eye level and to try and cheer him up.

"Naruto?" she asked now softly and kindly. "Are you okay?" she asked him. Naruto only nodded but didn't look up from the ground. She then placed her hands on his shoulders and got him to look up at her. "Naruto, you didn't do anything wrong at all. That man was cruel and I promise that I won't let him or anyone else speak like that to you again okay?" she asked. Naruto then stepped forward and she let him lean in to hug her so she hugged him back. She felt really bad for him now. Naruto was having such a nice day and that awful man had to ruin it. She then smiled when she thought of a way to make him feel better. "Naruto?" she asked, getting him to look back up at her again. "How about he have lunch on the way home? Wasn't there a place you liked to eat at?" she asked him.

Naruto then grinned happily and took her by the hand, urging her to follow him. "Come on, I'll show you the Ichiraku's and my friends Teuchi and Ayame Oneechan." he told her now bursting with joy and excitement.

[Ichiraku Ramen]

Tsunade followed Naruto to a wooden shack with _"Ichiraku Ramen"_ written in big red letters above the entrance. Naruto was small enough to not have to duck underneath like she did. She walked in to find a very casual place with decent enough decorations yet a warm and friendly environment. A row of seats were set up so you could pick a place at the counter where your noodles would be served to you right straight from the kitchen. Naruto climbed up onto a chair so she took one next to him with Shizune sitting next to her. A young lady who looked like she was probably about ten years old, give or take walked in with a white cooks outfit, an apron and a bandana cover her brown hair on top of her head.

"Hi there, welcome to Ichiraku's." she greeted cheerfully when she saw everyone sitting at the counter. That was when she saw Naruto and smiled even brighter. "Oh, hi Naruto-Kun. Glad you're back." she said to the little boy. She then turned to call back to someone in the kitchen. "Hey Dad, look who's back!" she called.

A man with grey hair and a slightly aging face entered emerged from the back and smiled when he saw Naruto sitting and smiling back up at him. "Well well well, glad to see you back so soon Naruto." said the old cook. "I heard you had to go to the hospital again and I was worried that it was bad. I'm glad to see that you're alright." he told him. That was when he saw the two other ladies sitting patiently and smiling at seeing him interact with Naruto. "My apologies ladies, where are my manners?" he asked with a friendly grin. "My name is Teuchi Ichiraku and this is my Daughter Ayame. Are you friends of Naruto's?" he asked.

"Very nice to meet you." replied Tsunade with a soft smile of her own. "My name is Tsunade and I'm actually Naruto's new Mother." she told him.

"Well nice to meet you Miss..." he stopped himself halfway and took a second to process that. "...Wait, Mother?" he asked.

Naruto started chuckling at his reaction. "Yup! This is my Mom and my Oneechan!" Naruto boasted while Tsunade and Shizune just smiled.

"Really?!" shrieked Ayame with excitement at hearing the news. "Naruto-Kun, that's wonderful to hear." she said, really happy to see that he was no longer an orphan fending for himself.

"It is." replied Teuchi who was almost as excited as his daughter. "I'm real happy that you found a nice young woman to be your mother. And the Lady Tsunade-Sama too no less. It's good to see that you've returned Tsunade-Sama. Welcome home." he told her.

"Thank you." she replied. "I know I've been gone a long while now but I'm happy to say that I'm staying now with my new Son." she told him.

"Well alright then, can I take your orders everyone?" he asked.

"One Pork Miso Ramen please." Naruto answered.

"Make that two." said Tsunade, thinking that it actually sounded good. "And if you have any Sweet Red Bean Soup, I'd like a bowl as well." she added.

"I'd like to have the Vegetarian Bowl please." said Shizune, placing her order. "And if you guys have any scraps for piglets, I'd be happy to pay for those as well because we have a pet pig just outside who'd like to have some." she explained.

"I have no problem at all giving some scraps but consider it on the house." he replied. "The Bean Soup as well because this is a celebration for Naruto finally having a family who loves him. And Naruto, if you want a second bowl once you're finished with the first, consider it on the house." he told him.

"You're the best Teuchi!" he shouted throwing his hands up like it was a big win.

"I appreciate the generous offer, but I don't mind paying for all of it." replied Tsunade, feeling a little flustered by such generous offers.

"It's no problem at all." replied Teuchi.

"Naruto-Kun is our best and favorite customer." said Ayame. "He eats so much ramen and is here so often, that Dad and I joke that he's the reason we're still in business." she told them.

"Thank you all so much." replied Tsunade, glad that Naruto introduced her to such kind and wonderful people. It made her happy to know that before she came along that there were at least some people who were kind to Naruto.

[Later]

Tsunade would take Naruto home after they had their lunch and then would give him a tour of the house. She showed him his new room and Naruto loved it. It was simply done with clean white walls and a single bed with a white pillow and blue sheets and bedding. Naruto laid down in it when he entered and thought it felt great. It pained her to hear him say that it was the first time he ever lay down in a bed with no springs sticking up through it and poking him or bugs biting him. She also showed him his new closet and dresser where he'd be keeping all his new cloths. She actually began putting his pants, shirts, underwear and socks away and showed him where the laundry hamper was for his dirty laundry and where to put his cloths when they were clean.

She then brought Naruto to the living room where she gave him his first present. He was thrilled about the new coloring books with some many cool pictures inside and all the new crayons for him to use. While Shizune worked on dinner in the kitchen, Tsunade played with Naruto and helped him color a few pictures. She was really impressed with how artistic he was because for a five year old, he was really good about keeping within the lines. He also expressed his love for the color orange with his pictures because he had done several orange clad ninjas in his books. She made a mental note to look for more coloring books for her son in the future because he really liked them. She also wanted to find more toys he might like.

It didn't take long at all for Shizune to finish dinner and soon, all three of them were seated at the dining room table and Naruto's mouth was watering at how good it smelled. This had to be the first time he ever had a properly cooked meal. She wasn't too sure Ichiraku ramen counted because fast food all the time wasn't healthy, no matter how you cooked or prepared it. Shizune made a delicious teriyaki chicken with some steamed vegetables and some white rice. Naruto quickly showed to like the chicken and he didn't have a real problem with the rice either. It was getting him to eat his veggies which was the challenge now. One of the things she kinda expected was Naruto would be a picky eater but to be fair, she was too when she was his age.

It wasn't easy, but she did get him to finish his plate and both of them praised him for eating his vegetables, even though it was hard. Obviously, this was something they were gonna need to work on in the future. Tsunade and Naruto would play around with Tonton for a few more hours but once the sun was setting, she noticed that he was yawning. She then decided that now would be a good time for him to take a quick bath and then go to bed. Naruto's bath was quick and soon, he was now in his stripped orange and white pajamas. Then she led him to his room so she could tuck him in. Naruto climbed up under the blanket and smiled up at her as she brought it up to his chin.

"Can we go to the park tomorrow Mom?" he asked, wondering if she would play with him on the playground.

"I don't see any reason why not." she replied. "But for now, it's bedtime so you need to focus on getting some sleep." she told him.

"Okay." he agreed, laying his head on his pillow.

"You have a good night now Naruto." she said, getting up and heading to the door.

"I love you Mom." he said to her.

Tsunade stopped halfway, feeling a tugging at her heart when she heard him say that. She then turned and walked back to his bedside, got down and smiled at him. "I love you too my special little boy." she replied. She then kissed him gently on the forehead and then left the room, turning out the lights.

Tsunade would help Shizune clean up a bit before taking a shower herself and getting dressed for bed. She wore a pair of pink pajama bottoms and a white sleeveless shirt. Once she was comfortable under her sheets, it didnt take long at all for her to drift off to sleep. She was only asleep for a few hours before she would be awaken by Naruto whispering her name and gently shaking her shoulder.

"Mom?" he said quietly so as to wake her gently.

Her sleepy eyes would open to see a pair of blue eyes looking at her. "Naruto?" she asked before looking at the clock near her bed. "It's midnight. Why are you up?" she asked with a yawn.

"I gotta go." he answered.

"Go?" she asked with another yawn and rolling over under the sheets. "Go where?" she asked him with her back turned. Naruto didn't say anything but she sat up when it hit her. "Oh, that go." she said, answering her own question.

Now, Naruto knew how to use a toilet. That wasn't the problem, but he was too short to reach the light switch in the bathroom so she would have to tun it on and off for him once he was done. She made a mental note to get him a stool so he could handle this himself in the future. Naruto would emerge once she heard the toilet flush. "I'm done." he told her.

"Did you wash your hands?" she asked, not hearing the sink running while he was in there.

Naruto didn't answer but did walk back in to wash his hands. Once that was done, she turned out the bathroom light, let him go back to bed and then went back to sleep herself. It didn't take long at all though for him to wake her up again.

"Mom?" he asked again.

She opened her sleepy eyes to see him there again. "Do you have to go again already?" she asked him.

"No, now I'm thirsty." he told her.

Now in the kitchen, she made another mental note to get him a stool for the kitchen so he could reach the sink too. As Naruto downed his glass of cold water, she stood there with her arms crossed. "You do realize that you're gonna be waking up again another two hours from now, right?" she asked him.

And two hours later, he did indeed. "Mom?" he asked, getting her to wake up again, now looking somewhat annoyed.

She stood outside the bathroom again while he was inside taking another leak. 'I'm gonna grow old doing this nightly routine.' she thought, barely able to keep herself awake.

Another hour later, Naruto woke her up yet again and now she was beginning to lose her temper. "Naruto, this is getting really old, really quickly." she almost hissed as she sat up again. Her frustration then disappeared when she saw the look of sadness on her son's face. "Oh, Naruto I'm sorry, I didn't mean to snap at you like that." she told him, trying to assure him he wasn't in trouble.

"It's not that." he said looking up at her.

"Well, what is it? What's wrong?" she asked him, wondering why he woke her up now.

"I had a bad dream." he confessed, sniffing afterwords and trying to to cry.

"Oh." she replied feeling sympathetic for him.

Naruto was now looking like he was about to start crying and brought a hand up to his eyes as they watered a bit. "I dreamed that you and Oneechan went away." he said mournfully. "I asked why but you wouldn't say anything. I asked you to stay but you left the house anyway and I was all alone again." he sobbed. "I was scared." he said before quietly crying before her now.

Tsunade felt heartbroken by that. Thinking hard on it now, she wouldn't be surprised if Naruto had many nightmares like this one or ones similar to it. But before she came along, there wasn't anyone to tell him it was gonna be okay. There wasn't a mom or dad to make him feel better after having a bad dream. She reached forward and lifted Naruto up into her arms and hugged him firmly but gently as a loving mother would, as if not to let her child slip away from her grasp.

"Naruto, I'm sorry you had a bad dream." she told him, letting him rest his head against her. "I used to have bad dreams like yours when I was a little girl so I know they can be scary. But remember that nightmares can't hurt you. Bad dreams aren't real at all, they're just thoughts and images in your head honey." she explained to him in a way she hoped a child would understand. Naruto looked like he was able to calm down but still worried about having another bad dream. That's when she figured that maybe she would try something her parents did for her whenever she had nightmares as a small child. "Tell you what, why don't you sleep here with me tonight? Will that make you feel better?" she asked, smiling when she got him to smile back and nod gently.

Tsunade lay down on her side with Naruto laying down next to her, his back against her and her arms around him. Naruto felt a sense of safety and comfort in her arms instantly and soon, was gonna fall asleep once more. Before his eyes shut for the last time tonight, he yawned one more time and said "I love you Mom."

Tsunade smiled and leaned over to kiss him gently on the cheek one last time before replying "I love you too Naruto." And like that, the both of them were asleep for the night.

[Author's Notes] Since it's the holidays, I thought I'd update this story much sooner before things get too busy. So here's another chapter and I hope you all enjoyed it.

This is Dragon1990 wishing you all a Happy Halloween! :-)


	5. I'll Protect You

[Tsunade's Room]

The sun shown through the eastern window of Tsunade's bedroom early the next morning and once the rays of light had crept over her sleeping face, the blonde mendic rolled over to her side before opening her sleepy eyes slowly and then yawning herself awake. She then sat up and stretched to loosen up her joints before looking over to her side and smiling down at her son who was still fast asleep next to her. She leaned down to gently kiss him on the cheek which got him to smile and roll in closer to her and trying to absorb as much of his mother's warmth as he could. Tsunade gently got back up very carefully so as not to wake him up. She wanted to let him sleep in a little more so she could start her morning and get his breakfast started.

Tsunade took a nice hot shower and took care all her other morning rituals such as brushing her hair and teeth. She then fixed her hair into the twin ponytails and dressed in her standard blue white sleeveless kimono, blue pants and green coat with _"Gambler"_ written on the back. She then walked into the kitchen and she was pleasantly surprised to see Shizune already working on breakfast for everyone. The timer on the rice cooker was almost done and she had eggs, sausages and bacon cooking over the stove. She was wearing her usual black kimono but also a white apron on as well. She turned when she heard someone and smiled when she saw her old friend and mentor. Tsunade then took her seat at the table while Shizune worked.

"Good morning Tsunade-Sama." Shizune greeted while she took the eggs off the stove and let them slide off the skillet and onto a plate. "I hope you slept well." she added.

"Naruto woke me up a couple of times but I slept fine." she replied. "If it wasn't having to use the bathroom, it was needing a drink." she added.

"Yeah, I heard a few times last night." she said while placing the bacon and sausages on a plate.

"I'm sorry, I hope we didn't wake you up." she told her.

"I woke up once and then fell back asleep minutes later so don't worry." she replied. "And as I understand it, Naruto slept with his Mom last night." she added with a troll like smug.

Tsunade smiled back and blushed a little bit. "He had a bad dream and needed comfort." she replied.

"That's so sweet." she said while setting the table.

"You should know that Naruto is quite the Cuddle Bug." she added which got both of them to laugh.

Once they finished chuckling, Shizune thought she'd change the subject. "So, what are your plans today Tsunade-Sama?" she asked her.

"Naruto wanted to go to the park today and play. I think I'll bring him there and we'll enjoy the jungle jim there for a few hours and then have lunch on the way home." she replied. "And how about you?" she asked her. "Do you have any plans today?"

"I'm gonna stop by the Hokage Tower and reapply for Missions on the active roster again." she told her. "We're gonna need to start paying bills and for more food later on and that means we'll need to bring in more income." she explained.

Tsunade nodded her head at that. "If that's your plan, then perhaps I should consider getting a job too." she replied. "Perhaps I'll apply to work at the General Hospital. I'm sure they won't refuse my skills and expertise." she added.

"If both of us could work, that would take care of any future expenses. But the problem is who will watch Naruto?" she asked her. "I could watch him for you when I'm not on missions but if I'm gone, what will you do? Take him to work with you?" she asked.

"I may have to." she replied. "It's not like I can get Naruto a sitter or anything. Not too many people are eager to watch him for me given his status." she replied, referring to Naruto's secret which really wasn't much of a secret thanks to the Hokage.

That was when Naruto came in and both ladies turned and smiled when they saw him. "Good morning Mom. Good morning Oneechan." Naruto said while rubbing his eyes and yawning.

"Good morning Naruto." replied Tsunade with a warm and motherly smile.

"Did you sleep well Naruto?" Shizune asked him.

Naruto smiled and nodded as he got up in a chair next to his mother. "What's for breakfast?" Naruto asked her.

"We've got some eggs, bacon, sausages and some rice with the choice of milk or orange juice." she answered.

"No ramen?" he asked her.

Shizune giggled a little at that. "Naruto, ramen isn't a breakfast food, that's what you have for lunch." she answered.

"But I had ramen all the time back when I lived by myself." he replied. "I had ramen for breakfast, lunch and dinner." he told her.

Tsunade smiled just a little and put her hand on his shoulder. "I understand that you ate a lot of ramen when you were living on your own, but things are different now." she told him. "It's important that you have a more balanced diet so from now one, we're gonna have to cut down on the amount of ramen we eat and try eating more fruit, vegetables and properly cooked meat from now on." she told him. She noticed that he looked a little disappointed at that so she got his attention again. "Naruto, eating the right kind of foods will make you much healthier and allow you to grow up big and strong. You wanna be a big strong and healthy adult don't you?" she asked him to which he thought for a second before smiling and nodding.

The three of them would enjoy a nice talk with their delicious breakfast before Naruto would get a shower and then Tsunade would lead him to the park while Shizune and Tonton would go to the Hokage's office. Tsunade kept thinking about getting a job, but she wanted to have Naruto taken care of properly. She really couldn't just take him to the hospital with her because a child could wined up getting in someone's way, even if they weren't meaning to and truth be told, the hospital isn't really a fun place either for kids. She just wish she knew someone who could watch him while she was away but she only came back just recently. She figured she'd find a solution to all of this later and right now, wanted to spend time with her new son.

[The Park]

Tsunade couldn't help but smile when Naruto asked her for permission to hold her hand again on their way there but she had no problem with it at all. Getting to the closest park from her house at the Senju compound requires going through the market district first. This was nice because you can brows a bit on your way there and you can take different routes there and back so you can see different shops, stores and restaurants so you can stop at one you find or like on the way home. But then there was the downside to traveling through such a public place. Tsunade noticed the whole time as people would glare or even scowl at Naruto the whole time. It made her really angry they would hurl such anger and hatred at a child who's done nothing wrong.

When they got to the park, Tsunade was a little surprised to see it so empty. She would have thought that there'd be more kids running around and playing like she'd seen only a few days ago, but perhaps this was just one of those days where they wouldn't show. A real shame too because she was really hoping to use this as an opportunity to help Naruto learn how to socialize with other children his age. It was important that he would play and interact with other kids within his own age group so that he'd be able to develop better social skills. Still, she was happy to be here with him none the less and today was such a nice and shiny summer day. She honestly felt like nothing could ruin this moment and Naruto looked about as happy as could be.

"Where would you like to play first Naruto?" she asked him.

"Can you push me on the swings?" he asked her.

"Of course." she answered.

Naruto smiled and ran over to the swing set with his mother following right behind him. She got behind while he climbed up into the swing and looked back to her when he was ready. Tsunade then reached down and grabbed hold of the seat before pulling it back then pushing him forward. She smiled when she heard Naruto laugh as the swung back and forth. Every time he came back to her, she'd gently push him back and send him forward again.

"Are you having fun Naruto?" she asked while smiling.

"Higher! Higher!" he called back so she put some more power being her pushes which brought him even higher.

After about fifteen minutes on the swings, Naruto decided that he wanted to try out the rest of the jungle jim so she let him. She figured at this point that she would just sit down and relax on one of the benches close by and watch him. Tsunade knew he was very energetic and would be running around on this thing for at least an hour or two before he'd get tired. She watched as Naruto did everything from the monkey bars and the balance beam right down to the slides and the chain bridge. She noticed that despite having the park kinda to himself right now, he was still having a good time playing by himself and was just glad he had a mother watching him. It made her a little sad thinking that a young child could be used to always playing by himself.

While Naruto played, there was a guy walking by and noticed him. He scowled and ran off to find his friends, telling them that Naruto was still alive and kicking. After awhile, Naruto ran up to her and looked like he was panting a bit but still smiling and having a great time.

"You look like you're a little tired." she remarked, seeing the sweat run down his face.

"Do we have any drinks Mom? I'm really thirsty." he told her.

Tsunade cursed herself for not thinking about bringing any snacks with her on the trip. Luckily, they were really close to the market district from here so she had an idea.

"Not at this very moment Naruto. But if you'd like, I could run to a shop and get you some juice and some snacks." she offered. "Would you like to come with me to go and get them, or would you like to stay here and keep playing?" she asked.

"Can I stay here and play in the sandbox?" he asked.

"Of course." she answered. "There's a store not far from here at all and the park is quiet empty today so I have no problem if you just wanna wait right here." she told him.

"Will you be back?" he asked her.

Tsunade got up from her chair, got down on one knee and lightly kissed him on the forehead. "I'll be back before you know it." she replied. "The Market District isn't too far at all so if you want, you can stay here and keep playing and I'll come right back with something to eat and drink. Just don't leave the park, okay?" she asked, making sure he understands.

Naruto smiled and nodded at that before running over to the sandbox. He thought he'd play around in that quietly while he waited for her. Tsunade then left for the market district and looked for the nearest store to find some juice and crackers for her son to snack on. Naruto was trying to make himself a sand castle but found it difficult to do because none of the sand would stick together. The kid realized that he would need water and since it hadn't rained recently, he wasn't gonna be making any sand castles today. So Naruto thought he'd just start digging instead. He figured he'd see how deep he could at least get and was curious as to how far down the large stand box really was. He was surprised when the hole got so deep that he couldn't reach.

But Naruto was so distracted by his activity that he didn't notice the group coming up behind him. It wasn't until he noticed a shadow looming over him that he realized that he wasn't alone.

"What do we have here?" asked a terrifyingly familiar voice.

Naruto slowly turned to look and turned pale in fear at the group who assaulted him and left him to die not long ago. He tried to get up and run but one of them slammed him down into the sand.

"Let me go!" Naruto shouted as he tried desperately to get away.

"I could of sworn he stopped breathing after the beating we gave him last time." said the leader who looked over to one of his buddies. "Looks to me like we need to be a bit more thorough this time." he told him.

"What do you want us to do with him Takuo?" asked another.

"Let's take him someplace quiet and out of the way." he said before clicking his fingers and leading them away.

Naruto tried to struggle as one of the guys picked him up roughly in his arms to the point where it was getting hard to breath for him and had his hand over his mouth so he couldn't call out for help. Naruto was really beginning to panic and was praying that his mother would come back and save him. Mothers don't let people do this to their children, right?

[With Tsunade]

Tsunade was in and out of the store she went to in like five minutes. She was carrying a bag full of cheese in crackers packages and some juice. She got both grape and orange and would let him choose which ones he would want. While she made her way there, she still had a lot on her mind. The most important issue she had in mind was income. Shizune was currently at the Hokage's office and applying for a team so she could start going on missions again. She could bring in a decent amount of income on her own but it wouldn't really be enough to take care of all the bills and groceries. Besides, it wouldn't be fair to have Shizune pay for everything. Tsunade knew she needed to get a job too, but she needed someone to look after Naruto.

What if Shizune was away on a mission and she needed to go to work? It's not like she can just keep bringing Naruto to the hospital with her. These were all things she thought on as she made her way back to the park but when she arrived, she saw that Naruto wasn't playing in the sandbox like he was before. She looked back towards the jungle jim and the swing set and he wasn't there either.

"Naruto?" she called out, looking to her left and right. "Naruto?!" she called louder as she was beginning to panic.

She put the bag down by the bench and started searching the areas around her in a desperate attempt to find her son. Her heart as beginning to pound within her chest against her rib cage. This was unreal. How could she lose her new son after just one day with him?

[With Naruto]

The five year old was slammed up against the wall in an alleyway where the same group who nearly killed him once dragged him off. Naruto was breathing hard and fast as he watched one of them pull out a knife and started twirling it around in his fingers.

"MOM! MOM!" Naruto cried which only caused the group to start laughing like it was hilarious.

"Did you hear that guys?" their leader asked as he still chuckled while leaning up against the wall with his arms crossed. "The little Freak wants his Mommy." he mocked.

"I didn't even know he had one." said another in response.

"Personally, I'm not in the least bit interested in knowing what creature squeezed him out from between it's legs." he replied.

"Why are you doing this to me?!" Naruto cried out as tears began to roll down his face.

"Why?" asked the leader as if it was an obvious question. "Because Demons need to be reminded why everyone hates them so much. I would have thought you'd know that after the last time we crossed paths Monster." he told him.

"I'm not a Demon or a Monster!" Naruto protested as he struggled to get the firm grip of one of the guys off his shirt. "And as soon as my Mom gets here, you'll be sorry!" he added.

"Quite the bluff Freak." he replied. "But if nobody was willing to save you then, who would bother now?" he asked him.

"MOM! MOM! M-" Naruto called again before the guy holding him placed his hand over his mouth.

"Thanks for shutting him up, he was giving me a really bad headache." said their boss, unaware that this time, somebody far off did hear him and she was fast approaching. "Now guys, it's obvious that we can't kill him. Cockroaches will always come back no matter what you do. So how about we teach it a lesson instead? Any ideas?" he asked around. "How about you Tamoya?" he asked the one holding Naruto against the wall.

Naruto watched as he started twirling the knife around in his fingers again like before then stopped it in his hand, now holding the hilt with the blade pointing towards him. "Maybe, I'll cut out his tongue and put an end to his lying." he sneered as he pointed the blade at the little boy's mouth. "Maybe, I'll cut off all of his fingers so he can stop stealing from the shops here. Maybe, I'll cut out his eyes so we can watch as he crawls around on all fours like the animal he is." he sneered before pointing the blade downwards. "Or maybe, I'll cut off his little cock so he can't make any future little monsters." he said cruelly.

"So many many options, I can't possibly decide." replied Takuo with a shrug of his shoulders. "Just cut em all off." he said which horrified Naruto.

Naruto tried to get the hand off his mouth so he can scream again, but the guys fingers were pressed tightly over his lips to the point where they hurt really badly. The guy then lifted the blade and began slowly bringing it to one of Naruto's eyes.

"This won't hurt a bit kid." he told him. "It's gonna hurt a whole lot." he sneered cruelly.

Suddenly, something flew through the air with amazing accuracy and knocked the blade clean out of the guy's hand. He was so shocked that he let Naruto go and stumbled back while holding his wrist. "What the hell?" he asked as he rubbed his hand. He saw that it was a small stone that was thrown at him.

That was when everybody turned to see Tsunade standing at the entrance of the alleyway with another stone in her hand, tossing it up and catching it in her hand over and over and boy did she look pissed.

"MOM!" Naruto cried out as tears flowed down his cheeks again, only this time in both happiness and relief.

"Just who the fuck are you?" asked Takuo with a brow raised.

"I'm his Mother and watch your language." she snapped back to him.

He seemed to be genuinely surprised by that claim. "Well, I'll admit I wasn't expecting this Freak to have someone looking after him. But I can't understand why." he said coldly. "Do you have any idea what he is?" he asked, thinking she didn't know what Naruto was.

"His name is Naruto Uzumaki and he is my Son. Now let him go before I lose my patience." she warned.

The guy just chuckled, thinking that a lone woman threatening him was kinda funny. "Hey Taki, get rid of this old crow so we can get back to punishing this monster." he said to one of his friends.

A guy stepped out and walked towards her while drawing a knife. "You really should stay out of our business lady." he said with a sneer.

"You have no idea what kind of can of worms you're opening if you're gonna lay your hands on me." she said as she narrowed her vision on him. "If you value your body remaining fully intact, you'd better drop the knife and get lost." she warned.

"That's quite a convincing bluff lady." he said, still walking over while twirling his knife in his hands. "But you're not gonna sound so tough when you're sucking my dick with no teeth in your mouth, will ya?" he asked before lunging forward to attack.

Everyone was shocked to see Tsunade first flick the blade out of the guy's hands and then flick him in the face with the same finger, sending him flying through the air and then skidding across the ground towards his friends. "TAKI!" they all shouted in shock.

The guy brought his hands up to his bloodied mouth and freaked when he felt something missing. "MY TEEF!" he said, realizing in horror that she literally knocked almost all of his teeth out.

"Last chance to walk away fully intact." she said walking forward now.

"Get her!" shouted Takuo to his gang.

Each of them started running at her with the intentions of hitting or stabbing her. Naruto watched in amazement as she handled each of them easily. All she would do is flick one of her fingers and first knock their knives out of their hands before flicking them again in the face and knocking them back, either knocking their teeth out or cracking their jaws. Each guy would fall to the ground and clutch his face in pain and in horror at what has happened to them. It didn't take long at all before Takuo was the only one left, sweating bullets as his friends lay around all around him in pain while Tsunade started him down. Angry at how she tossed his friends around like a salad, he charged forward with his own knife drawn and aimed towards her throat.

Tsunade saw that he wasn't trying to slash at her and was trying to stab at her instead. She reached up and caught his hand in hers, stopping him dead in his tracks. He then tried to pull away but was caught in her grip.

"Let me go you Bitch!" he demanded. "Do you have any idea who I am?!" he shouted.

That was when he started crying out loudly in pain when she started squeezing his hand in hers, slowly crushing it within her fingers.

"No and I don't care." she replied as she kept squeezing.

The guy screamed in agony and watched in horror as the bones in his fingers and hand started snapping like twigs with the bone splinters being forced out through the skin. Once she finally let him go, Takuo fell to his knees now crying with tears rolling down his cheeks. He couldn't believe what he saw, his hand and fingers reduced to a broken and shattered, mangled mess.

"What have you done to me?!" he shouted to her as he still looked at his completely broken hand.

"I've made sure that you wouldn't hurt my Son or anyone's children for that matter, ever again." she answered before walking past him and picking Naruto up before turning around and heading back.

"Wait a minute, I know who you are!" he said, struggling to get to his feet. "You're her! You're one of the Legendary Three Sannin, Tsunade-Sama!" he shouted as she walked past him.

"And you'll remember to stay away from me and my Son for as long as you draw breath." she warned. "If you ever come near Naruto again, I'll kill you." she warned, staring back at them for a moment with the coldest and possibly scariest eyes ever.

While they all panicked and started running away, Takuo was the last to leave. "You'll regret this." he spat back, still cringing in pain from his now useless hand. "My Father is a very powerful and influential man here. When he hears what you've done to me, you'll be sorry!" he shouted before finally turning and running.

"I rather doubt that." she replied before turning back to her son whom she held in her arms. Naruto watched as the anger in her eyes disappeared instantly and turned to worry and concern for him. "Naruto, are you okay?" she asked him. Naruto was quiet for only a moment as his eyes met hers. Then his tears welled up before rolling down his cheeks as he cried into her shoulder while hugging her tightly to him. "Naruto it's okay. You don't need to cry, you're safe now." she said while hugging him in her arms, trying to shush him and calm him down.

"You came for me." he said as he kept crying. "I called for you and you came." he said sniffing a little.

"Of course I did." she replied with a soft smile. "I wasn't gonna let those awful men hurt you, you know that right?" she asked him. Naruto nodded and smiled back. "Now, I think we've had enough excitement for one day. Let's go home." she told him.

Naruto allowed her to put him back down on the ground before he'd reach up to take her by the hand so they could walk back home together. Naruto was so relieved that his mother answered his call and came for him when she did. He was not looking forward to receiving whatever punishment those cruel men were gonna subject him to.

[Tsunade's House]

Tsunade would come home with Naruto later that day where Shizune was busy cleaning the house. She noticed that Naruto had gotten really quiet since he got home and tried asking Tsunade what was wrong. She would wined up taking her to another room and explaining what happened while they were out. Tsunade was wondering if she should try talking to Naruto again or wait till a little later when he was ready to talk. The three of them would have dinner together that night around the table like the night before. Shizune felt bad that Naruto had such a scary experience today so she made him a few bowls of ramen with his dinner and Tsunade thought it was a great idea to make him feel better. Naruto did look like he was happy with the ramen.

After dinner, Naruto would take his bath and then Tsunade would tuck him into bed before wishing him goodnight. Then she would take her own shower, dress in her usual nighttime wear and got to bed herself. She was currently sitting up in her bed and reading a book when she heard her bedroom door open. She looked over to see Naruto standing there in his pjs before walking in.

"Naruto, is everything okay?" she asked him, putting down her book.

Naruto nodded and walked in and up to her. "I'm okay." he replied.

"Well, then is there something you need from me?" she asked him.

Naruto was quiet for a moment before responding. "Why does everyone wanna hurt me?" he asked her. "That guy was the same guy who beat me up once when I was leaving the market. I didn't say or do anything to him and he still beat me up. Did I do something wrong?" he asked her.

Tsunade was surprised to hear that that was the guy and his group who hospitalized Naruto the first time she returned to Konoha. If she had realized that sooner, she would have done more than broken a few bones or knocked out some teeth. She sighed and got up to face Naruto who was now standing by the side of her bed.

"Naruto, you didn't do anything wrong at all." she answered. "You were not the one who was at fault here, those men were." she told him.

"But why did they wanna hurt me again?" he asked her.

"Naruto, sometimes there are people who just wanna hurt other people because they can." she answered. "Even if those people are smaller than them or haven't done anything to deserve it. Sometimes, they are simply bad people who enjoy hurting others." she told him.

Naruto then climbed up onto her bed and she let him lay into her arms so they could hug again. "I'm so happy you came back for me Mom." he said smiling while resting on her shoulder. "I was scared that you wouldn't come this time." he told her.

"Of course I was gonna come for you Naruto." she replied smiling. "I wasn't gonna let anybody hurt my special little boy. You know Naruto, I was scared too." she told him.

"Really?" he asked, letting go to look her in the eyes.

"Yes Naruto. I was scared I was gonna lose my Son today." she told him. "And that's why I came back looking for you and why I wasn't gonna let anybody hurt you. I didn't wanna lose my little boy." she said with a smile. "Whenever you need me, I'll be there for you. I promise that I will protect you." she told him.

Naruto felt such warmth from his mother's promise. He was beginning to feel what it really meant to have a mother who loved and was there for you.

"Mom, can I stay with you again tonight?" he asked her.

Tsunade smiled and replied by gently kissing him on the forehead. "If it makes you feel much better, then you most certainly may." she answered.

She then readjusted so she was laying on her side with Naruto laying on his. She let then brought the covers over them so they were nice and comfortable. Naruto felt safe and loved in his mother's arms and it wasn't gonna be long before he'd fall asleep again. He yawned once while Tsunade reached up to turn off the lights.

"Goodnight Mom." he said as his eyes began to slowly drift close.

"Goodnight Naruto." she replied as she held him closely to her.

"I love you." he said once his eyes were completely closed.

"I love you too." she said with a smile before her eyes closed as well.

Today had ended for Naruto and his new mother. Tomorrow was gonna bring Tsunade some startling revelations when she would visit the Hokage's office.

[Author's Notes] So I don't know why this one was such a pain to put together, but I'm guessing that it's because I'm still getting over a bad case of writer's block. Hopefully, that will be over and I can get back to updating my stories regularly.

Now, I would like to go over the results of the previous Author's Note involving the vote for Naruto's future girlfriend for the story and HOLY FREAKING CRAP! I wasn't expecting so many votes! I had no idea so many people were invested in the story. Now, here are the results...

Karui- 7

Sakura- 10

Tenten- 10

Kin- 10

Fuu- 13

Hinata- 14

Kurotsuchi- 15

Temari- 15

Tayuya- 18

Karin- 21

And the winner with 26 votes is Ino Yamanaka!

So, in the future in one of the fallow up stories, I'll bring Naruto and Ino together as boyfriend and girlfriend and later as husband and wife.

Thanks for your votes everyone and if anyone is disappointed that your chosen girl won't be the one for this story, just remember that I do plan on doing special love stories for all of them too.

As always, thank you all so much for reading my stories, I hope that you all enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing. Please leave me either a Review or a PM and if you have any thoughts or ideas you'd like to share, I'd love to hear em.

This is Dragon1990 signing out :-)


	6. The Truth Revealed

[Hokage Tower]

"What do you mean you can't help me?!" asked an angry older gentleman who stood before the Hokage and the elders.

"It means I can't help you Mori-Sama. I'm sorry, but you'll just have to deal with your Son's injuries and move on." replied the Hokage.

"Hokage-Sama, your student has done such terrible damage to my Son's hand. The doctors said that no matter what surgeries they preform, he'll never have full functionality of his hand again. Your student has done this to my Boy and I will not tolerate it, I demand justice!" he said in anger and frustration.

"You don't get to make demands of the Hokage Mori-Sama." said Homura in response to that.

"I will speak with Tsunade, but I wanna hear the full story." said Hiruzen. "Based upon eye witness accounts, it was your Son who tried to harm her Son and she protected him." he explained.

"That is a lie!" he snapped back. "My Son would do no such thing!" he shouted.

"I cannot make any official judgments until I get the full story." replied the Hokage calmly.

"So in other words, you won't help me." he grumbled back.

"I'll have the Police Force conduct a full investigation into your case Mori-Sama, but that is all I can do right now." he told him.

The other old man just turned his back and walked away at that point. Before he left the room however, he turned to the Hokage one more time. "If my Son and our Family don't receive justice for what happened, I will close down all my stores and take my business somewhere else. Perhaps to the Land of Stone or Lightning." he threatened. And like that he was out the door.

Once it closed, Homura let out a tired sigh while pinching the bridge of his nose. "I do hope you understand what a serious issue it is for us if he really does close up shop Hiruzen." said the other elderly man. "He legally owns almost half the stores in our village. If he does pack up and leave, we'll have to deal with a weakening economy." he told him.

"I doubt that he'll just pack up and leave." replied Hiruzen. "Don't forget that his Daughters give him marriage ties here to half the Nobility. If he leaves, he'll actually lose more money than if he were to leave and set up shop somewhere else.' he explained.

"I suppose you're right Hiruzen." replied Koharu. "Still, I do believe it's the right decision to have the police force do a proper investigation into this event as well as speak with Tsunade about it too." she told him.

"I'm actually having her visit me in my office today." he said before taking another whiff of his pipe. "Today I plan on telling Tsunade the truth of her new Son's birth." he told them.

This was something that neither of the elders were pleased to hear. "Hiruzen, you keep making decisions like this behind our backs instead of asking for our advice first. I do question such rash actions my old friend." said Homura.

"I'm only telling Tsunade." replied the Hokage. "I'm sure we can trust her with the truth and what difference will it make if just one other person knows at this point?" he asked.

"Again, a fair point." replied Koharu. "Still, I do wish that you'd come to us first." she told him.

"I am grateful to all of you for your council, but don't forget that I'm the leader of this village because everyone here trusts me to make the right decisions. And you will remember who is your Hokage." he reminded them calmly but firmly.

[Tsunade's House]

Tsunade was in her dining room with her young son while Shizune was still in the kitchen. Naruto was having a bowl of cereal while his mother was having some sunny side up eggs with some toast and jam. Shizune had to have her breakfast first because she was called for a new mission already. She was informed that a team of jonin were in need of a new medic for their team because their current team member was on medical leave since she was gonna have a baby. She explained to Tsunade that this meant she was gonna be going on quite a few missions and that Tsunade will be alone with Naruto a lot. She was fine with this of course, but this meant that Tsunade was more in need of a sitter for her son than ever. She needed a job and that meant Naruto needed someone to watch him.

Naruto just finished eating his cereal and drinking the milk in the bowl before looking to his mother. "So what are we gonna do today Mom?" he asked her with a grin.

She smiled and responded after swallowing her mouthful of toast. "We have a few trips to make today." she replied. "I've been asked to visit the Hokage's Office because the old man wishes to speak with me. Then I'm gonna talk to him about finding a decent sitter for you." she explained.

"Sitter?" he asked with a raised brow.

"A baby sitter Naruto." she answered. "I'm looking to get a job at the hospital but I need someone to look after you while I'm away at work. I'm hoping that the Hokage will be able to help find someone who's able to watch you for me." she told him.

Naruto didn't look too happy to hear that though. "But I don't want you to leave me. Can't I just come to work with you?" he asked her.

Tsunade took a quick sip of her tea before responding. "Naruto, I don't want to leave you either but I can't just take you to work with me. There would be nothing for you to do there." she explained. She knew he wasn't too happy with the idea of being left with someone he didn't know and she figured that he'd be nervous because of how most people acted towards him. "But Naruto, I promise you that I will find someone who's nice to you. I won't leave you with someone unless I know they're someone who'll treat you kindly." she promised which got him to smile. "Now, let's get you dressed into proper cloths and get ready to go." she told him.

"Okay." he grinned before running off to his room to get dressed.

[Hokage Tower]

Tsunade took Naruto with her to the tower and of course, he asked if he could hold her hand like before and she let him. While they walked, she noticed a change in the people's attitude towards her son. Nobody looked like they were angry or hateful to him anymore but more like they wanted to just give him his space. If she had to hazard a guess, word must have spread of what happened when someone tried to hurt him yesterday. It was good that everyone knew now not to lay a hand on her child, but she also didn't like that everyone was afraid of them both now. What she wanted was everyone to treat him fairly and with basic decency and not with fear or like his mother was gonna go on a rampage if anybody just looked at him wrong. She was happy she saved her son, but she didn't want this.

It didn't take long at all before they made it to the Hokage's office and once she knocked, she heard him on the other side granting permission to enter which she did. He smiled upon the both of them entering.

"I'm glad that you've come Tsunade, I've been meaning to speak with you." he said to his student. He then smiled down to the little boy who held her hand. "And I'm happy to see you too Naruto." he added.

"Hi Old Man." said Naruto with his big friendly grin.

"You said you wished to speak with me Sensei." said Tsunade.

He nodded before sending out a ripple of chakra which signaled two Anbu guards to flash in. "Yes Hokage-Sama." they both said in unison.

"Inu, Neko, I need you both to watch Naruto for me while I speak with Tsunade in private." he instructed. "Naruto, these two are gonna take you outside to play while I talk with your Mother. Don't worry, they'll keep you safe." he told him.

Naruto looked up to his mother who nodded. "It's alright Naruto, I promise that I won't be very long." she told him. Trusting her, Naruto smiled and nodded before walking away with the two Anbu guards. The woman with violet colored hair left first followed by Naruto while the silver colored haired man closed the door behind them. That was when she turned back to her teacher, ready to hear the truth. "So, you told me that you were gonna tell me the truth of my Son's heritage today?" she asked.

"Yes, I promised that I would tell you everything." he told her.

Tsunade crossed her arms before responding. "The Adoption Certificate that I signed said that I was to be trusted with the knowledge of his Clan. I didn't even know that Naruto had one." she told him.

"Actually, Naruto is the Son and Heir of two clans here in Konoha." replied the old man.

That actually surprised her which made her drop her arms to her side. "Two clans? Just who are his parents?" she asked him.

"You already met them actually." replied the Hokage which she also wasn't expecting. "Tell me, is there anything at all you find familiar about the Boy? Not just his physical appearance, but his personality, the things he likes, his favorite food and mannerisms." he listed.

Tsunade crossed her arms again and took a moment to really think about it. Now that her sensei mentioned it, there was something very familiar about Naruto she didn't realize until now. Naruto was a very outgoing kid and very confident too. She noticed that he was very high energy as well and creative which was reflected in his artwork from the drawings she now had hanging up on the fridge. Thinking back, there was only one other child she could remember who had an almost matching personality to Naruto. That's when something else dawned on her, the girl she was thinking of also enjoyed playing lots of pranks as Naruto liked to do and she also had an unholy love of ramen too. A young lady with violet colored eyes and crimson red hair, the trait of her clan.

Another thought came to her mind then, this same young lady grew up and would eventually marry a young man who was the spitting image of Naruto. Lightly tan skin, yellow blonde hair and bright blue eyes. That same young man was believed to be a shinobi prodigy who set records in Konoha as one of the strongest ninja. Jiraiya even took him as an apprentice and personally taught him everything he knew and he grew to be one of Konoha's greatest fuiinjutsu masters. Eventually, he would rise through the ranks and even achieve the highest title in this village. When it finally came to her, she looked up at Hiruzen in absolute disbelief. He looked at her, watching the whole time as she put the pieces together and came to the conclusion he knew she would.

"Sensei, are you saying?" she asked finally.

"Yes." he replied. "Naruto's birth Mother was Kushina Uzumaki. Last living member and Princess to the Uzumaki Clan. His Father was Minato Namikaze. This village's Fourth Hokage." he answered.

Now the Hokage's office was meant to be completely soundproof. The walls were layered with special sound absorbing materials and these very same materials were also used for the door and windows too. The whole purpose was of course to provide the highest privacy for the Hokage and whoever he was speaking with. It was also to make sure that no potential spies were listening in. This was undoubtedly the best place to explain to Tsunade the truth of her new son's birth. The last thing he or anybody needed was for someone other than who was trusted with that secret to get a hold of that very important information and use it against them. But as soundproof as the walls, door and windows were supposed to be, they weren't able to hold back what came next.

"YOU MOTHER FUCKERS!" screamed Tsunade to the top of her lungs which actually shook the whole building and caused the elders and other staff to jump.

She actually held him in a death grip by the folds of his robes and staring him down with burning anger in her eyes. Hiruzen had a calm expression but his ears were still ringing from when she yelled at him. "Will you please put me back down Tsunade?" he asked her.

She did and took a step back while placing a hand on her hip. "How could you let any of this happen to him?" she asked while still looking mad but managed to calm down just a bit. "It's awful enough that you or anybody would force such a cruel and heavy burden like being a Jinchuuriki onto him which would inevitably lead to a life of neglect and abuse, but on the Fourth Hokage's Son?! One of Konoha's greatest heroes who saved this village and gave his life in the process?! How could you do this?!" she shouted, barely able to keep her emotions under control.

"It wasn't my decision to make Tsunade it was Minato's." he answered. "The night the Kyuubi escaped, Minato and Kushina gave everything they could to save Konoha. To ensure that no further death and destruction would follow, they made the difficult and painful decision of sealing the Kyuubi within Naruto who had been born barely even an hour before, his umbilical cord having just been cut. It was the their last wish that he be seen as a hero for taking the Fox and saving Konoha but they didn't foresee that the villagers would be bitter at him for something that was beyond his control. So I passed a law forbidding anybody of even speaking of the Kyuubi under the penalty of death. I had hopes this would help but it changed very little at all." he said sadly.

Tsunade crossed her arms in response. "And all this time, before I came along and took him in, he suffered at the hands of the village his parents fought so hard to save." she said bitterly. "If Minato and Kushina, who trusted you with their Son knew what he had to endure what would they think of you Sensei? If they were here right now, what would they have to say?" she asked him.

"Tsunade, you're not asking me anything that I haven't already asked myself." he said sadly before taking another puff from his pipe and blowing some smoke out with a tired sigh. "Not a day goes by where I wish things could have been handled better and I pray constantly that I may one day stand before Minato and Kushina and beg for their forgiveness. All the while I wanted to give so much to make things better for Naruto but as Hokage my hands were tied." he explained.

Another thought came to her mind that moment. "Sensei, how many others knew Naruto's true heritage?" she asked him.

"There were a select few who were trusted with the truth. Everyone else had to be kept in the dark as much as possible. It's why Naruto was given his Mother's maiden name rather then his Father's." he explained.

"What about the people who asked to adopt him before me? Did they know the truth?" she asked him.

"They were Minato and Kushina's oldest friends Tsunade. How could they not know?" he asked her.

This baffled her. "Sensei, why would you refuse them then?" she asked. "Any of them could have given him a far better life than what he was living before and they were close friends with his late parents. Why would you say no?" she asked him.

"For the same reason why I didn't have him adopted into the Sarutobi Clan Tsunade. I couldn't trust the clans themselves and had to refuse purely for political reasons." he answered. "You must remember that the motives of the Clan and that of their Leaders are not always the same. I knew that the Leaders were people I could trust. I'm sure they would have done a great job providing for him and taking care of him. But the clans themselves would have wanted to exploit his heritage for their own political gains. Could you imagine the fame that would have been thrust onto the clan that was taking care of the late Hokage's Son? They wouldn't have chosen to care for him for humanitarian or compassionate reasons Tsunade." he explained.

"Furthermore, you must remember that he's the Jinchuuriki of the Nine Tailed Fox." he continued. "Naruto's status as the Host of the Fox was another factor I had to take into account. As Hokage, I have to maintain a careful balance of power among the clans and if he were to be adopted into one of these families it would have upset that balance. It would've been something else the clans would have wanted to exploit." he told her. "So for all those reasons, I had to say no to every request to adopt him no matter how badly I wanted to say yes." he said before stepping forward. "But when you came forward and asked for permission, I had hopes that things were finally changing for the better for him. And when you told me that it's because you would care for and love him as a Mother would, I believed it." he said with a smile.

Tsunade smiled at that. It made her feel good knowing that even after all these years of living away from Konoha and after how she left, he still trusted her. Another thought came to her mind before she responded.

"Sensei, Naruto needs to know the truth." she told him. "After everything he's been through, he should know who his birth parents are and what a prod heritage he has. That he's a hero and that his Mother and Father are heroes." she explained.

Hiruzen was quiet for a moment before sighing. "Tsunade, you're his Mother now so it is your decision to make. But I'd like to ask that you hold off on telling him until a later later." he replied. "There's still a risk in having too many people know his heritage and I think it could do some more harm than good if he knew too soon. If you want to tell him now then you can, but I must ask that you wait until he's older and more capable of understanding the risks. Please wait until he's sixteen, that seems like a reasonable age for him to learn the truth." he told her.

Tsunade didn't like having to keep the truth from her son, but she understood where he was coming from. He wasn't saying he was against Naruto knowing, he was simply doing his job as Hokage and protecting everyone which was his duty.

"Thirteen." she replied finally. She didn't want to make Naruto wait too long before hearing the truth.

"Deal." he said in return and accepting her counter offer. "And no sooner." he added.

"And no later." she replied.

Once they were done, Hiruzen allowed her to leave the room before he followed from behind and closed the door. They then walked down the hallway together to where Naruto was waiting for her.

"Tsunade, I need to ask you something." he said while they walked side by side.

"Go ahead." she replied.

"I was approached by Mori Yamauchi not long ago. He wasn't happy about what happened to his Son yesterday." he told her.

"Mori?" she asked.

"Mori Yamauchi is the CEO of Yamauchi Inc. He's a very wealthy and powerful man here in Konoha do to the number of stores and shops he owns and the fact that his Daughters grant him marriage ties to many powerful families here. Even Shinobi Clans have Sons who've married his Daughters. He's easily the wealthiest man in the whole village, possibly even in the Land of Fire." he explained.

"Where are you going with this?" she asked.

"His Son had to be rushed to the hospital for the damage done to his hand." he replied. "His name is Takeo Yamauchi and they told me it was you who broke sixteen bones in his right hand. I want to ask, what happened?" he asked her, stopping and turning to face her.

She wondered how long it would take before she would hear about this. "Yes, I did break his hand." she answered while placing a hand on her hip. "Now I have to ask you, did he mention that his Son tried to hurt Naruto? Given that he and his friends were about to assault my Son with a knife, he should consider himself lucky that I all I broke was his hand." she told him firmly and calmly.

"I thought there was more to this than what Mori was telling us." he replied.

"So what happens now? I may have acted to protect my Son, but I still assaulted a civilian. Am I facing charges?' she asked him.

"No." he answered. "And even if we were to press charges, I doubt it would be worth it because nobody would side against a Mother defending her Son from someone trying to hurt him. Rest assured, you and Naruto can relax and let us handle everything." he told her.

"And what about Mori and Takeo? I doubt they'll be happy about that." she replied.

"They don't have to like it." he answered. "The worst he could do from here on out is close all his stores and leave, hoping to cripple our economy. But we have plenty of people trading here so our economy would be fine and he'd lose money in the end so I don't think he'd risk it." he informed her. That was when he opened the door to let her out. "Have a good day Tsunade." he said with a small smile.

"You as well Sensei." she smiled back before leaving. She then headed around to the miniature playground that was just outside the tower where children could play while they waited for their parents who were on business with the Hokage. She was surprised to see that Naruto wasn't the only child there. There were several other little boys there too who all looked to be his age and they were playing with him. And it looked like their mothers were sitting at the park benches watching them and when they saw her approaching, they all smiled and waved to her to come over and speak with them. She smiled as she instantly recognized all the women there. "Well this is a pleasant surprise. It's very nice to see you all again." she greeted as they all stood up to greet her properly.

"It's very nice to see you again as well Tsunade-Sama." said a young women with raven colored hair and onyx eyes.

"How long has it been? Because I don't think you've changed much at all since we last saw you. You look just the same as the day you left the village." said another women who's dark brown hair was tied into a low ponytail.

The ladies before her were Mikoto Uchiha who was Lord Fugaku's wife, Tsume Inuzuka, Keiji's widow and now leader or "Alpha" as the Inuzukas say, Yoshino Nara who was Shikaku's wife and Choko Akimichi who was Choza's wife.

"Well you all seemed to have matured a bit since I last saw you." she said before smiling as she looked over to the group of boys playing. "And the last time I was here, only Mikoto and Tsume were mothers." she observed. She remembered the days Itachi and Hana were born because she personally delivered them. "And now it seems like all of you have Sons." she finished.

"And it would seem that you've also joined the ranks of Motherhood with us as well Tsunade-Sama." replied Mikoto.

"I appreciate your respect, but there's no need for the honorifics Mikoto." replied Tsunade. "I've known you all since you were in the Academy after all." she told them.

"Mom!" shouted Naruto who ran up to be swept up into her arms. "Mom, I made some new friends." he told her, really excited to tell her that he met some boys his age.

"I can see that and I'm really happy for you." she replied before turning to the boys who came up to speak with her. "Hello Boys, nice to meet you all." she greeted.

"It's very nice to meet you Tsunade-Sama." said the young boy with raven colored hair and onyx eyes. "My name is Sasuke Uchiha." he greeted with a bow.

"I'm Kiba Inuzuka and this is Akamaru." said Tsume's young son who introduced himself and the little puppy who was sleeping on the top of his head.

"Choji Akimichi Ma'am." said the short and chubby boy with a respectful bow.

"Shikamaru." said the last boy who was Yoshino's young son.

"Very nice to meet you all." she replied. "Hey, why don't we all head back to my house so you can all play for a little while longer while I talk with your Mothers over a hot cup of tea?" she offered.

[Tsunade's House]

Once Tsunade opened the door, the boys charged through followed by their moms. "Come on guys! Let's go outside and play tag!" Naruto shouted as he led them out back.

Tsume then turned her attention to her Ninken, the old one eyed and one eared wolfhound. "Kuromaru, Pups are out back. Watchdog." she ordered.

"Yes Ma'am." he replied before heading outside to keep an eye on the boys for his mistress.

Tsunade would heat the water and soon she would pour five hot cups of tea while all the ladies would sit and talk in her living room.

"So I take it that the Hokage had told you the truth about Naruto's birth, has he?" asked Mikoto.

Tsunade took a quick sip of her tea and then nod her head. "Yeah, I got the whole story." she replied.

"Then I think this is a good time for us to say thank you Tsunade." replied Tsume.

"For what?' she asked her.

"For taking care of Naruto." replied Yoshino. "For being a Mother for him when we couldn't." she added.

"No matter how badly we really wanted to." said Choko.

Tsunade remembered how they all asked for permission to adopt him into their families and how he had to say no. "I understand that you all did this for Kushina." she replied.

"She was our friend for a very long time and we were all heartbroken when she died." said Mikoto. "We wanted to do something for her since we weren't able to be there for her the day she died." she added.

"We felt that giving her only Son a good childhood and a family who loved him was the best we could do." said Tsume. "But the Hokage and the Council refused us each and every time we asked no matter how much the poor Pup was suffering on his own.' she told her.

"So when we heard that he finally found a family who accepted him, we had to see who it was and thank them." said Yoshino. "And when we learned it was you, we were beyond happy knowing that Naruto was blessed to have the best Mother to adopt him into her family." she added.

Tsunade smiled at the praise. "I'm glad you all feel that way, I just wish I thought all this through before signing the adoption papers." she replied.

"Is everything alright?' asked Mikoto.

"The only real issue I'm dealing with is money." she answered. "Shizune is now on the active roster again so we are bringing some money in, but I can't expect her to pay for everything and it would be fair for me to make her do that in the first place. I can get a job at Konoha General, but then I don't have anybody left to watch Naruto. I know he's lived on his own for several years now, but I don't feel it would be right for me as his Mother to leave him while I work. I want to hire a sitter, but I don't know if any are willing to watch him given that everyone already knows what he is." she said, knowing that they all knew that he was a Jinchuuriki.

"Is that all?" asked Tsume. "If you need someone to keep an eye on your Pup, just bring him over to the Inuzuka Compound. I'll keep him safe for you during your work hours." she offered.

"I appreciate that Tsume, but I don't want to impose." she replied.

"It's no problem at all." she replied. "I'm more than happy to watch him for you." she told her.

"But don't you have a clan to govern?' she asked her.

"I do have some days that are busy yeah and if so, I'll have Hana watch him. She's already watching Kiba most days so it's no problem at all and if she's at the Academy then I'll have Kuromaru watch him. Never will you find a more reliable watchdog." she told her.

"I don't think it would be fair if you were the only one sitting for Tsunade." said Mikoto. "I'm more than happy to take a turn in watching Naruto for you Tsunade." she offered.

"We're all more than happy to do the same." said Choko.

Tsunade smiled at that. "Thank you all so much." she replied, touched by the kind offers.

"It's the least we can do." replied Yoshino.

That was when they heard the back door open up and Naruto followed by the boys charged in. "Hey Mom! Can Sasuke, Kiba, Shikamaru and Choji stay over tonight please?" he asked when they gave him the idea.

Tsunade looked over to the other ladies were were smiling. "Well I'll have to talk with your Moms, but it's okay with me if you Boys wanna have a sleepover." she answered.

[Author's Notes] I'm sorry it took me so long to update but my laptop is broken so I've got no PC anymore. I can borrow one from a friend every now and then but I can only use it for a few hours because he needs it for work and school. So until I get a new computer any progress in updating chapters and stories will be slowed to a crawl.

Anyhow, thank you all for reading my stories. Please leave me either a Review or a PM as I love hearing your thoughts and if you have any ideas you'd like to share, please lay em on me as I love hearing from my readers and if I like the idea, I'll use it for the story.

This is Dragon1990 signing out :-)


	7. The Leader Of The Foundation

[Tsunade's House]

Tsunade was up early the next morning and in the kitchen. Shizune was away on a mission so she had to manage the house my herself for a bit before she'd go to Konoha Hospital for work. Last night Naruto had a sleepover with Sasuke, Kiba, Choji and Shikamaru. Very soon they would be waking back up and she was gonna make sure that they all had some breakfast before their moms came and got them. She also worked things out with Tsume yesterday so that when she came to get Kiba she would watch him at her clan's compound until she got off from work. The boy's mothers offering to watch her son was a god send because she really needed to bring in some additional income and Shizune, while she worked very hard wouldn't be able to handle everything such as food, clothes and bills.

Naruto was the first to wake up and walked into the kitchen with a yawn before smiling and climbing up into a chair at the table. "Good morning Mom." he greeted hapily.

"Good morning Naruto." she greeted back with a warm and motherly smile. "I hope you and the boys had fun last night." she said as she walked over to the cabinets to grab a bowl for her son.

"Yup, we played all sorts of fun games and they even showed me some of their cool toys that their moms got them." he replied while he watched her pour some cereal into a bowl with some milk.

"Well that was nice of them to share their toys with you." she said before grabbing a spoon and bringing Naruto his breakfast.

Naruto thanked his mother for the bowl and then started chowing down. After a couple of bites, he turned to her again. "So what are we gonna do today?" he asked her.

"Well, I've got some work I'm going today." she answered. "I've got a new job at Konoha General and I'll be there most of the day. I've talked with Kiba's Mother. She's agreed to let you stay over at her house so you can play with Kiba until I come back later to pick you up." she explained to him.

"Oh okay." he said before taking another bite.

It was then Kiba walked in while yawning and holding a sleeping Akamaru in his arms. "Morning Tsunade-Sama." he said in a groggy yet friendly manner.

"Good morning Kiba. Did you sleep well?" she asked.

"Yes Ma'am, thank you." he replied before pulling himself up into a chair.

"Hey Kiba, Mom said that when your Mom gets back, I'm going over to your house while she goes to work." he told him.

"Aw cool!" he said while Tsunade placed a bowl of cereal before him. "This will be great. You'll get to see where my Family and Clan live, you can meet all our dogs and my Big Sister Hana-Oneechan." he told him.

"Didn't you say that she's training to be a Ninja?" he asked excitedly.

"Yeah and she's really good at it too." he answered. "Oneechan can be a big pain in the butt and kind bossy a lot of the time but she's really nice mostly." he told him before taking a bite of his cereal.

It didn't take long at all before the rest of the boys showed up and took their seats at the table where Tsunade poured them bowls of cereal. She smiled and went back to cleaning the counter tops in her kitchen while the boys ate and talked. It made her so happy to see Naruto happy and surrounded by friends. She was really hoping that things would turn around for him shortly after she took him into her family and adopted him as her son. She was a little worried about the boys talking about shinobi in front of him like with Kiba telling him about Hana taking her classes or Sasuke telling him about his older brother Itachi and his skills as an Anbu Black Ops but she didn't want to spoil their fun and while Naruto thought that was all cool, he didn't say for certain that he was interested in becoming one.

Tsunade was pulled from her chain of thoughts when she heard a knocking at the door. When she answered, it was Yoshino Nara. "Hello Yoshino." she greeted happily.

"Good morning Tsunade. I hope my Son wasn't too troublesome." she replied.

"Not at all. He and Naruto had fun along with the rest of the boys." she told her.

"That's good to hear." she said smiling before being invited in.

She would enter and see the boys sitting around the table having their breakfast. Shikamaru would look up and notice his mother and speak once he finished swallowing his mouthful of cereal.

"Morning Mom." he greeted.

""Are you about ready to go Shikamaru?" she asked him.

"Do I have to? I haven'y even finished packing or my breakfast." he replied with his usual scowl.

"Shikamaru, we need to get going. Tsunade-Sama has work today and so do I." she said crossing her arms.

"There's no rush Yoshino, I'm not needed for another hour." replied Tsunade who held up a pot of coffee. "Care to have a cup while we wait for the boys?" she offered with a smile.

Yoshino smiled back. "I'd love a cup." she replied.

One by one, the boys' mother came and soon, Tsunade would offer a cup to each of them while the boys finished eating and then packing up their backpacks. They also had to brush their teeth and help Naruto clean up his room. The ladies had enough time to talk and enjoy a hot cup of coffee before Tsunade accepted their mugs and placed them into her dishwasher. Everyone then headed outside where they all said goodbye to Tsunade and her son until Tsume and Kiba were the last there with them.

"I really appreciate you doing this Tsume." said the blonde with a kind smile.

"I'm more than happy to help out Tsunade." replied the Inuzuka Matriarch.

She then got down on her knees to Naruto's level. "Naruto, please be good for Tsume and the Inuzukas. I'll pick you up later today once I finish work okay?" she asked smiling.

"Okay." he said grinning back.

"I love you my special little boy." she told him before giving him a quick kiss on the forehead.

"I love you too Mom." he said before giving her a kiss on the cheek.

She then stood up and they went their separate ways but Naruto did call back to her and they waved until they were out of sight. Tsume walked with both kids and Kuromaru at her side and smiled while the boys goofed around and talked. It really did warm her heart to see that Kiba was able to socialize with other kids his age. Being part of a clan often times left children isolated from other children so he was only able to play with other clan children like Shikamaru, Choji and Sasuke. Naruto got along great with her young son and it made her happy as well to watch Kushina's son finally happy and no longer all alone. It broke her heart the day Minato and Kushina died and it wasn't fair that the Hokage and the council wouldn't let her adopt him as one of her own when she really wanted to.

But now Naruto was able to start over with a mother who really loved him and wanted to give him a better life. And she was one of the Sannin too which was great. Naruto had the best protection anyone could afford to give him. She's had the chance now to speak with Tsunade several times since she's come back to live in Konoha and she can already tell that Tsunade absolutely loves her son. He may not carry her blood, but that doesn't mean a thing to her because she wouldn't let anyone hurt him. And she pitied the idiots who even dared to harm him now. While they walked, her smile disappeared when she saw someone who she detested standing in the middle of the road and by the look on his face he wanted to speak with her. The old War Hawk looked at her as if he was trying to stare her down.

"Hey Mom, who's that?" Kiba asked pointing to Danzo who began making his way forward.

"Don't worry about it kiddo. You and Naruto head straight for the compound, I'll handle things from here." she replied. "Kuromaru, keep an eye on the Pups for me." she ordered.

"Yes Ma'am." he replied. "Come along Pups, follow me." he said and both Naruto and Kiba responded by following the old war hound.

Danzo allowed the dog and the boys to run past and continued walking to Tsume so they could speak. "Greetings Tsume, I hope you have been well since the last time we spoke." he said to the Inuzuka Matriarch.

"I'm fine. Now what do you want?" she asked crossing her arms.

"While your manners are certainly lacking I can appreciate that you want to get straight to the point." he replied. "I want to know what you're doing with the Kyuubi's Container in your possession." he told her.

"I don't have him in my possession Danzo and don't talk about him like he's someone's property. His Mother has asked me to watch him while she's at work." she said back almost snarling. She really didn't like it when he spoke about Naruto or even children in general as if they were objects and not people. "You and the rest of those old farts have already forbidden me from adopting him no matter how many times I've tried asking. But you didn't say that I couldn't watch over him for a friend." she told him.

"Of course Tsume." he replied calmly. "I'm not bothered all that much if you wish to babysit the boy for his Mother. My concern is the loyalty of our Shinobi clans and their leaders." he added.

"Are you questioning the Inuzuka Clan's loyalty to the village?" she asked him.

"Of course not. I have absolute faith that the Inuzuka Clan are one of our most loyal clans and will remain loyal to us as they always have." he replied. Tsume was familiar with his word games. He pretends to flatter you while at the same time putting you into a position where you can't argue with him and watch yourself even if he's made no threats against you. "How's your Daughter?" he asked. "I understand that she's going to graduate from the Academy in a couple of months." he told her.

"Her studies are going well and she's a straight A student. She receives glowing praise from all her instructors." she told him.

"You must be proud of her." he said with a stone cold face.

"Very much so yes." she replied. This was another part of his games. Reminding you that he had files and information on everyone. He isn't directly threatening her but he is subtly telling her that he has his eye on her and her clan.

"Well I'm pleased to see that Tsunade has chosen someone trustworthy to watch her Son." he said now excusing himself from her. "I believe now that I should go and speak with her. It has been a very long time since I last spoke with her and I'm interested in seeing how she's doing and if she's adjusting well to life with the village again." he said as he made his way to Konoha Hospital.

'Don't be surprised if you aren't well received.' she thought as she continued on to her clan's compound. Not long after her unpleasant talk with Danzo, Tsume made it home and noticed that her daughter was home too. She was happy to see this because she was hoping to get her to act as a sitter again. "How's it going Pup?" she asked her.

"Going great Mom." replied the young Inuzuka heiress.

"No class today?" she asked her while she looked to see Naruto and Kiba playing in the backyard.

"Not today no." she answered while she petted her Ninken, the Haimaru Triplets. "Our teacher is getting married in a few days so we have several days to ourselves." she told her.

"Well that's good to hear because I want you to keep an eye on Naruto and your Brother for me." she said with a smirk. "I have a few meetings today with the rest of the Clan and I can't babysit at the moment." she told her.

This was not what Hana wanted to hear. "Aww Mom really?" she asked in a really tired manner. "You make me watch Kiba on all my days off." she whined.

"None of us sass." said Tsume who turned to head inside and get ready for her meeting.

"Yes Ma'am." Hana groaned as she looked to see her little brother and his friend play. 'As if watching Kiba wasn't enough now I gotta watch two kids. This is such a pain in the butt.' she thought to herself. She really wished that her mother wouldn't make her babysit on all her days off. She wanted to relax, watch some TV and maybe even have some dango.

[Konoha General]

It's been several hours now and Tsunade was already right at home and in her environment. It was a little busy today because several squads of shinobi and kunoichi came home from their missions and were pretty banged up but fortunately their injuries weren't anything that she hasn't already treated before in her career as a medic ninja and the best part was that they would all make full recoveries and be back on duty again in no time at all. There was some complaining from a few of them but she honestly thought they were overreacting to the damage and she would tell them that they were lucky enough to make it back home in one piece and that they should be more careful next time. All in all, she had to set a few broken bones and stitch a few nasty cuts as well as prescribe some medicine.

And she was glad that the Hokage was able to train some excellent medic ninjas of their own. Konoha General had some very skilled doctors for sure but their job was much easier because of such smart medical ninja working out in the fields during their assignments. There were a few things she could probably teach them here or there but for the most part they were well educated in the medical field and able to provide excellent care in an emergency. The medicine that was available for her to use here was also top notch. She was glad that the place was stocked up on such high quality medicines. That was one of the best part about working in Konoha General. Whatever equipment, staff or medications she needed she got. And the best part was this was gonna make providing for her new son much easier.

It was about three and she was heading off for her lunch break. But it seemed that she wouldn't be having it by herself because someone else would come to speak with her. She was not in the least bit happy when one of the elders came to speak with her. And not just any elder, it was Danzo.

"Tsunade, I'm sorry I wasn't able to greet you properly when you first arrived but I wanted to welcome you home." he said in a polite yet serious tone. "I hope you've been able to settle back into your home." he added.

"I've adjusted well enough." she replied. "My old house hasn't changed a bit since I last left it so settling back in was easy. The village seems the same for the most part. There are new faces that weren't here when I was last here but I expected that. The only real challenges for me now is being a Mother." she explained.

"I had heard that Hiruzen granted you permission to adopt Naruto. I'm sure you'll do an excellent job raising him." he replied.

"While I can appreciate that you and I both know you're not the kind of man who cares all that much about formalities." she told. "Would you care to tell me what you're really after?" she asked.

"I'm glad to see that you wish to get straight to the point." he replied. "Let's sit. I will have lunch brought and don't worry, I'll cover the bill." he offered.

Tsunade allowed him to pay for their meals at the closest restaurant they could find. She really didn't want to talk to him because she knew that he wouldn't be talking with her unless he felt that there was something he could gain. Still, she may as well here him out and she gets a free meal out of it which was nice.

Once she had taken her seat across from Danzo, Tsunade sat back comfortably with one leg over the other. "Now, I believe that you said that you had something that you wanted to talk about Danzo." she said after taking a drink of some green tea.

"I'm a man who's interested in the future of Konoha Tsunade." he replied sitting back in his chair as well. "And part of that as the head of the Foundation is of course training new Shinobi and building up our village's military power. To get to the point, I want to talk to you about Naruto's shinobi future." he told her.

"I see." she replied with an even tone.

"I would like to extend the offer to you Tsunade to train Naruto Uzumaki in the Foundation." he continued. "I can offer him the finest training and education any shinobi student could hope for and more importantly I can see to it that he'll learn how to harness and control the Kyuubi's chakra which will make him a far more effective weapon for this village in the future." he explained.

"I have no doubt that your training sessions will indeed improve his skills as a shinobi if that is indeed what he wants to do with his life but I'm not sure it would be best for him." she replied.

"If you are at all worried about whether or not you'd allowed to see him Tsunade you have nothing to fear." he told her. "My training programs are flexible and you'd still be able to spend plenty of quality time with him like you do now. You'd still be the boy's legal guardian, I'm only interested in making sure that he receives the proper training he needs so that he can be the best weapon available to us should the need arise." he added.

"Danzo he's not a weapon, he is a human child." she said with her brows forwarding in offense to the language he's using. "More importantly he's my child now and while I do care about the safety and future of Konoha I care very deeply about my Son and want what's best for him and I don't think the Foundation is the sort of place for children. Besides, he may not even want to be a ninja when he grows up, have you ever considered that?" she asked him.

"You speak to me as though I'm being naive young Tsunade. But it is you who's being naive here." he replied. "We live in a shinobi village. Most children here dream of entering the shinobi academy and graduating at the earliest possible age. Furthermore Naruto is a Jinchuuriki and the only one that we have. It's important that his power is ours to control and to use should Konoha ever enter into war. Naruto Uzumaki will become a weapon for this village Tsunade. But at the Foundation, he'll be better for it. If you were to enter him into the academy he'll simply receive standard training like all the children do but under my apprenticeship he'd be an Anbu Black Ops by the time he's ten years old and he'll have full mastery of the Kyuubi's chakra by the time he's twelve. That is his fate Tsunade." he finished.

"Ugh, Fate." she said in a slightly disgusted tone. "Don't give me any of that crap. Fate isn't real at all, there's only tragedy and coincidence and if fate is real then it's cruel to all of us." she told him, remembering that fate of her brother and fiancee from years ago. "I agree that this is a shinobi village but that doesn't mean that Naruto's destiny is decided for him. My Son can be anything he wants to be when he grows up. I doctor, a scholar, a carpenter or a metal worker, there are so many other fields he can pursue in life. He doesn't just have to be a ninja." she told him.

Danzo was quiet for a moment but then finally responded. "Very well Tsunade. I can see you've made up your mind. I don't believe that the Boy won't wish to join the shinobi academy but I do believe that you believe otherwise and that you'll raise him to the best of your abilities." he replied. "But I must ask, what if he does wish to join and become a ninja, what then?" he asked her.

Tsunade paused and thought on that for a moment. She really really didn't want to think about the possibility that Naruto would actually wanna become a ninja. She lost some of the people she deeply loved years ago and her losses still hurt and she never wanted to revisit that again. Truth told, she didn't want Naruto anywhere near that dangerous lifestyle. But she couldn't ignore that maybe one day he will ask to become a ninja. So she gave the best answer that she could think of.

"If Naruto wants to become a ninja, "If" he asks to join the shinobi academy I'll enter him and also personally tutor him so that he receives the training needed." she answered. "But remember, I said "If" he wants to join. It's his decision to make, not yours or mine." she told him.

"That's acceptable." he replied. "While I still believe that he's better off at the Foundation I do believe that being tutored by one of the Sannin will be sufficient for him as far as training goes." he told her. "But now that leaves me with one other issue about the boy I must ask." he added.

"And what would that be?" she asked him.

"I was wondering how you felt about him being put forward in an arranged marriage to further strengthen Konoha politically." he said plainly.

"...Marriage?" she asked him.

"Hiruzen and I have been in contact with many nobles and shinobi clans both here in Konoha and in Suna who are our allies." he began. "Many of them have some lovely young daughters, many of which are close to Naruto's age. It would greatly benefit the village if we could make some arrangements for him to wed a young lady of one of clans to further strengthen our village's relationships with our allies." he explained.

"Naruto is only five years old." she replied calmly but irritated.

"Of course it wouldn't be right away Tsunade." he said as if it were obvious. "I'm speak of course when he's much older. Perhaps in his mid teenage years." he told her.

"I'm well aware of the fact that shinobi clans and noble families still practice arranged marriages for political reasons. But I'd really rather not force my Son into this. I want him to be free and find someone on his own time." she replied.

"I figured that would be your response." he said before taking another sip of tea. "And while there's no immediate need for it now that may change in the future and you can't deny that by adopting him you've brought the boy into the world of shinobi politics. You are the last known living member of the Senju Clan which means that you've made Naruto your heir. While others may not know his true heritage, he's still seen as the future successor of your family and many lords and clan leaders will come forward with marriage proposals for him. I'm just asking if you yourself have considered it." he explained.

Once again Tsunade really didn't like this but she couldn't deny that he had a point. It was probably well known by now that she was his adoptive mother which made Naruto the rightful successor of the Senju Clan and there were gonna be plenty of nobles and clan lords in the future who were gonna offer their daughters to him. She hated having to admit that Danzo was right but she knew he had a point. It wasn't a matter of if now, it was simply a matter of when before Naruto would start receiving marriage proposals. Danzo was still waiting for her answer before she finally answered after a tired sigh.

"If there was no other way, if it was the only way to prevent a war or the only way to end one, I would agree to put my Son forward for an arranged marriage." she said begrudgingly.

"I'm glad to hear it." he said finishing up. It looked like Tsunade was just about done too. "I believe that I've taken enough of your time Tsunade. I have my own duties to attend to and I'm sure that you still have some work back at the Hospital." he said standing up.

"Yeah, my lunch break is about done." she said standing up as well.

"I appreciate that you were willing to speak with me today about these issues." he said with a slightly nod.

"And I appreciate the free lunch." she replied before they went their separate ways.

[Inuzuka Compound]

It was the late afternoon now and Naruto was with Kiba and Tsume in their kitchen. Tsume had finished her meeting not long ago and was preparing a snack for the boys before Tsunade would come by to pick up her son. Hana would enter the room as well and get herself a drink from the fridge. She had a strange feeling when both boys started snickering and she looked back to see the biggest shit eating grins on their faces they've had all morning. She didn't know what they had planned but she kept her eyes on them while she made her way to the table. However, she should have kept her eyes not on the boys but on the chair because of the prank they were about to pull. But by the time she realized what had happened it was too late and when she took her seat there was a loud and unladylike noise.

"SHE FELL FOR IT!" shouted Naruto and Kiba in unison.

Both boys burst into laughter and high five one another while a blushing Hana reached underneath and pulled out a whoopee cushion. This caused a tick to form on her head in frustration. Both boys have been playing jokes on her all day long and it was getting really annoying.

"BOYS!" she screamed in anger.

"Calm down Hana." said Tsume who was doing her best not laugh at her daughter's expense.

"Come on Mom, you can't tell me that this is okay!" whined Hana who looked at her with an 'Are you kidding me' face.

"It was just a harmless prank Hana and you've gotta admit, you've walked right into it." she snickered. "Or in your case, sat on it." she added which got the boys to laugh again.

"Mom they've been doing this all day and it's annoying." she said shooting both boys an angry look.

"Come on Hana, boys will be boys." she said before handing everyone their snacks. She was taken completely off guard though when she sat down and everyone heard the same loud and unladylike noise from her chair.

"TWO FOR ONE!" Naruto and Kiba cheered as they high five and laugh again.

Tsume pulls out the second whoopee cushion they cleverly hid on her chair before shooting dirty looks at the still laughing boys. "Come on Mom, boys will be boys." said Hana who got her mother to look over at her. "You've gotta admit, you walked right into it. Or in your case, sat on it." she said with her own satisfied smug.

Tsume was annoyed at first but finally cracked a smile. "Alright alright you got me boys, you had your fun." she said before there came a knocking at the door.

Akamaru and the Haimaru Triplets started barking with their masters trying to calm them down while Kuromaru looked up calmly to his mistress. "Tsunade-Sama is back." he told her.

This got Naruto really excited and when Tsume answered the door to let her in, Naruto ran up to her and she smiled before sweeping him up into her arms. "Mom!" he greeted happily with a big smile and a hug.

"Hello Naruto, I hope you had fun here today with Tsume, Hana and Kiba." she replied smiling motherly.

"Yup, Kiba and I had so much fun and played lots of funny pranks on Hana Oneechan!" he beamed.

While she didn't really like the pranks, Hana was touched by the new honorific he gave her 'Awww, he called me his Oneechan.' she thought with a smile.

"Hope work was kind to you." said Tsume as Tsunade put Naruto back down to speak with her.

"Busy but not bad at all." she replied.

"Well that's good to hear." she said to the blonde medic ninja. "By the way, I had made the boys a snack and I was gonna start dinner in about an hour. Care to stay?" she offered.

"Oh I don't want to impose." replied Tsunade.

"Come on, there's plenty and I'm sure that the boys will enjoy at least a few more hours together before you have to go." she told her.

"Thank you very much Tsume." replied Tsunade who entered.

She and Naruto would stay for dinner for at least a couple more hours which involved Tsunade talking with Tsume some more and Hana having to watch the boys again while they played. Poor thing was extremely tired from having to watch them the whole day. She definitely didn't know how her mother managed to do it for so long when it came to raising her and Kiba. Once dinner was finished, Tsunade and Naruto thanked the Inuzukas for their generous hospitality and then were on their way. Naruto held her hand while they walked and she smiled and listened while he told her about all the fun things he and Kiba did while she was at work. Tomorrow was gonna be much easier because she learned on the way home that Shizune had completed her mission and would be arriving in Konoha soon after Naruto went to bed.

It would be much easier for her now, or so she would think.

[Dawn]

Outside of Konoha, there stood a tall man dressed in a traditional grey shinobi uniform with a red vet. He had spiky white hair and onyx colored eyes with red markings running down from his eyes to his cheeks. He smiled as he looked over the village as the sun began to rise in the distance.

"Ah Konoha, it's been a long time." he said with a smile on his face. "I can hardly wait to see everyone again after being away for so long." he added before striking a dramatic pose. "And I hope all you lovely young ladies are ready for the powerful! The pleasurable! The Mighty Toad Sage Jiraiya!" he shouted with a big grin.

[Author's Notes] So yeah, same as before I'm still without a PC and still overwhelmed at work so I'm sorry for the long waits in between updates. Once I get a new PC I promise that it'll change and I'll be able to update sooner but until then I hope you'll all forgive me.

As always thank you all so much for reading my stories. Please leave me either a Review or a PM letting me know what you think and if you have any ideas you'd like to share please lay em on me because I love hearing from my readers.

This is Dragon1990 signing out :-)


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